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Home , Chris Hadfield, Dextre, Energia (corporation), Expedition 20, Expedition 22, Expedition 26

International Benefits for Humanity 2nd Edition

This book was developed collaboratively by the members of the International Space Station Program Science Forum, which includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), (CSA), (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Russian Federal Space Agency (), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

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i Acknowledgements

A Product of the ISS Program Science Forum Executive Editor: Julie Robinson, NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Managing Editor: Julie Robinson, Pete Hasbrook, Amelia Rai, Tara Ruttley, Amelia Rai, NASA Camille Alleyne, Cynthia Evans, William Stefanov, Michael Read, Kirt Costello, David Hornyak, Tracy Thumm, Susan Anderson, Section Editors: Joshua Byerly, Joshua Buck Camille Alleyne, Kirt Costello, David Hornyak, Michael Read, Tara Ruttley, William Stefanov; NASA Canadian Space Agency: Nicole Buckley, Luchino Cohen, Ruth Ann Chicoine, Technical Editor: Christine Giguère Neesha Hosein, DB Consulting Group, Inc. European Space Agency: Graphic Designer: Martin Zell, Eric Istasse, Jason Hatton, Jennifer Ngo-Anh, Cynthia Bush, DB Consulting Group, Inc. Nigel Savage, Jon Weems Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency: Shigeki Kamigaichi, Kazuyuki Tasaki, Sayaka Umemura, Koki Oikawa, Hideyuki Watanabe, Nobuyoshi Fujimoto, Masato Koyama, Yayoi Miyagawa, Tatsuya Aiba, Shiho Ogawa, Toshitami Ikeda Russian Federal Space Agency: Georgy Karabadzhak, Elena Lavrenko, Igor Sorokin, Natalya Zhukova, Nataliya Biryukova, Mark Belakovskiy, Anna Kussmaul Italian Space Agency: Salvatore Pignataro, Jean Sabbagh, Germana Galoforo

ii About the Cover Art nd Health Several themes are integrated into the cover art for this 2 International Space Station Benefits for Humanity. The central theme is that of “bringing light to the darkness,” as indicated by the predominantly nighttime view of , with both the station crew and the populace over which it soars on the verge of experiencing a new dawn. The Earth view chosen includes some of the most underdeveloped regions on the ; home to people Earth whose lives stand to gain the greatest enrichment from the groundbreaking research being Observation conducted high overhead. and Disaster The double-headed arrow, which can be interpreted to be a stylized representation of the space station’s orbital flight path, is also the visual centerpiece for two of the remaining Response themes. The double arrow points both behind the station—back toward Earth, and ahead of the station—forward past the Earth, to the , , and to far more distant destinations. This highlights the dual charter of station research to improve life on Earth and to lay the technological groundwork for human expansion beyond low-Earth orbit. Innovative The arrow’s color shift from silver to gold represents the third theme: “Invest silver, get Technology back gold.” This theme pays homage to the manifold benefits of knowledge realized through international investment in the space station. It also celebrates “gold” of another kind, the enrichment of life on Earth that is the subject of this volume. These benefits for humanity are represented by five gold medallions, each signifying a major area of emphasis: Human Health, and Disaster Response, Innovative Technology, Global Education, and Economic Development of Space. Global The final theme is also the most subtle. Although this is a publication coordinated by Education NASA, the NASA logo is absent from the front cover, in deference to the fact that the benefits chronicled herein are a result, not of any single nation’s efforts, nor those of one nation above others, but of unprecedented international partnership and cooperation. This is a benefit for humanity in and of itself, one which promises incalculable rewards not only in such tangibles as heightened international commerce, but perhaps most importantly, in greater cross-cultural understanding and tolerance, the very foundation for Economic humanity’s future. Development Michael C. Jansen of Space December 2014

iii Book Highlights

Robotic arms lend a healing touch The world’s first robotic technology capable of performing surgery inside magnetic resonance machines makes difficult surgeries easier or impossible surgeries possible. Page 3

Improved eye surgery with space hardware An eye-tracking device allows the tracking of eye position without interfering with a surgeon’s work during corrective laser eye surgery. Page 6

Bringing space station ultrasound to the ends of the Earth Small ultrasound units, tele-medicine and remote guidance techniques make medical care more accessible in remote regions. Page 8

High-quality protein crystal growth experiment aboard Kibo Protein crystal growth experiments contribute to the development of medical treatments. JAXA is making positive advancements in research on obstinate diseases through experiments in space. Page 23 Earth remote sensing from the space station ISS contributes to humanity by collecting data on global climate, environmental change, and natural using its unique complement of crew-operated and automated Earth observation payloads. Page 51 Advanced ISS technology supports water purification efforts worldwide At-risk areas can gain access to advanced water filtration and purification systems affording them clean drinking water. Page 65

Tomatosphere™: Sowing the seeds of discovery through student science This award-winning educational project with an estimated 3 million students participating is helping researchers answer questions about growing food in space while teaching students about science, and nutrition. Page 94 Calling cosmonauts from home Currently aboard the Russian segment of the station are four space investigations that have educational components to inspire future generations of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. Page 104 Commercialization of low-Earth orbit (LEO) Forward-thinking, agile companies like NanoRacks and UrtheCast believe routine utilization of the unique environment of has come of age, and that at long last ISS is open for business. Page 112 Space mice teach us about muscle and bone loss Biotech and pharmaceutical companies like Amgen use to study their drugs and do preclinical work important for FDA approval. Page 129

iv Table of Contents

Acknowledgments...... ii About the Cover Art...... iii Book Highlights...... iv Executive Summary...... ix Introduction...... x

Human Health 1 Health Technology...... 3 Robotic arms lend a healing touch...... 3 from space lead to one-stop breast cancer diagnosis treatment...... 5 Improved eye surgery with space hardware...... 6 Sensor technologies for high- jobs and operations ...... 7 Bringing space station ultrasound to the ends of the Earth ...... 8 Are you asthmatic? Your new helper comes from space ...... 10 Cold plasmas assist in wound healing...... 10

Preventing Bone Loss...... 13 Preventing bone loss in spaceflight with prophylactic use of bisphosphonate: Health promotion of the elderly by technologies...... 13 Improved scanning technologies and insights into osteoporosis...... 15 Good diet, proper exercise help protect ’ bones ...... 15 Add salt? Astronauts’ bones say please don’t...... 17

Immune Defenses...... 19 Early detection of immune changes prevents painful shingles in astronauts and in Earth-bound patients...... 19 Station immunology insights for Earth and space ...... 20 Targeted treatments to improve immune response...... 21

Developing New Therapies...... 23 High-quality protein crystal growth experiment aboard Kibo...... 23 Cancer-targeted treatments from space station discoveries...... 25 Using to treat multiple ailments...... 26

Food and the Environment...... 29 Microbiology applications from fungal research in space...... 29 Plant growth on ISS has global impacts on Earth...... 30 Experiments with higher plants on the Russian Segment of the International Space Station...... 32

v Burnt Orange = 0 70 100 25

Heart Health and Biorhythms...... 35 Space cardiology for the benefit of health care...... 35 Biological rhythms in space and on Earth...... 36 Innovative space-based device promotes restful on Earth...... 37

Improving Balance and Movement...... 39 New technology simulates microgravity and improves balance on Earth...... 39 New ways to assess neurovestibular system health in space also benefits those on Earth...... 40 leads to non-pharmacological treatment and prevention of vertigo, dizziness and equilibrium disturbances...... 42 Capturing the secrets of weightless movements for Earth applications...... 44 Space technologies in the rehabilitation of movement disorders...... 45

Earth Observation and Disaster Response 49 Environmental Earth Observations...... 51 Earth remote sensing from the space station ...... 51 Coastal sensing extended mission ...... 53 Visual and instrumental scientific observation of the ocean from space...... 54

Disaster Response...... 57 Space station camera captures Earthly disaster scenes ...... 57 Clear high-definition images aid disaster response...... 59

Innovative Technology 63 Fluids and Clean Water...... 65 Advanced ISS technology supports water purification efforts worldwide...... 65 Exploring the wonders of fluid motion: Improving life on Earth through understanding the nature of Marangoni convection ...... 66 Space station-inspired mWater app identifies healthy water sources ...... 68 Space-tested fluid flow concept advances infectious disease diagnoses...... 69

Materials...... 71 Improving semiconductors with nanofibers...... 71 InSPACE’s big news in the nano world ...... 72

Satellites...... 75 Deploying small from ISS ...... 75 Pinpointing time and location ...... 77 Space station technology demonstration could boost a new era of -servicing ...... 78

Transportation Technology...... 81 Cool flame research aboard space station may lead to a cleaner environment on Earth ...... 81

Robotics...... 83 Robonaut’s potential shines in multiple space, medical and industrial applications ...... 83

vi Global Education 87 Inspiring the next generation of students with the International Space Station ...... 89

Inquiry-based Learning...... 91 Student scientists receive unexpected results from research in space ...... 91 Europe’s alliance with space droids ...... 92 NASA has a HUNCH about student success in engineering...... 93 Tomatosphere™: Sowing the seeds of discovery through student science ...... 94 Students photograph Earth from space via EarthKAM program ...... 96 Try zero G 2: Igniting the passion of the next generation in Asia ...... 97

Inspiration...... 99 Asian students work with astronauts in space missions ...... 99 Educational benefits of the space experiment “Shadow-beacon” on ISS...... 100 Students get fit the way...... 102 Inspiring youth with a call to the International Space Station ...... 103 Calling cosmonauts from home ...... 104 MAI-75 experiment, main results and prospects for development in education ...... 105

Economic Development of Space 109 Commercial Service Providers...... 111 Water production in space: Thirsting for a ...... 111 Commercialization of low-Earth orbit (LEO)...... 112 Innovative public-private partnerships for ISS cargo services: Part 1 ...... 113 Innovative public-private partnerships for ISS cargo services: Part 2 ...... 115 Precision pointing platform for Earth observations from the ISS...... 116 The Groundbreaker: Earth observation...... 118 A flock of CubeSats photographs our changing planet...... 119 Stretch your horizons, Stay CuriousTM...... 120 Mission critical: Flatworm experiment races the clock after splashdown...... 122 Economic development of space in JAXA...... 123

Commercial Research...... 127 Colloids in space: Where consumer products and science intersect ...... 127 Space mice teach us about muscle and bone loss ...... 129 Protein crystals in microgravity ...... 130 Muscle atrophy: Mice on the ISS helping life on Earth ...... 131

Link to Archived Stories and Videos ...... 134 Authors and Principal Investigators by Section...... 135

vii viii Executive Summary

The International Space Station (ISS) is a unique scientific platform that enables researchers from all over the world to put their talents to work on innovative experiments that could not be done anywhere else. Although each space station partner has distinct agency goals for station research, each partner shares a unified goal to extend the resulting knowledge for the betterment of humanity. We may not know yet what will be the most important discovery gained from the space station, but we already have some amazing breakthroughs. In the areas of human health, innovative technology, education and observations of Earth from space, there are already demonstrated benefits to people back on Earth. Lives have been saved, station-generated images assist with disaster relief, new materials improve products, and education programs inspire future scientists, engineers and space explorers. Some benefits in this updated second edition have expanded in scope. In other cases, new benefits have developed. Since the publication of the first edition, a new constituency has developed, one that is using the ISS in a totally different fashion—to develop a commercial market in low-Earth orbit. From pharmaceutical companies conducting commercially-funded research on ISS, to private firms offering unique research capabilities and other services, to commercial cargo and crew, the ISS is proving itself to be just as adaptable to new business relationships as it has been for a broad diversity in research disciplines. This book summarizes the scientific, technological and educational accomplishments of research on the space station that have had and will continue to have an impact to life on Earth. All serve as examples of the space station’s potential as a groundbreaking research facility. Through advancing the state of scientific knowledge of our planet, looking after our health, developing advanced technologies and providing a space platform that inspires and educates the science and technology leaders of tomorrow, these benefits will drive the legacy of the space station as its research strengthens economies and enhances the quality of life here on Earth for all people.

ix Introduction

Welcome as we share the successes of the International Space Station (ISS) in this second edition of the International Space Station Benefits for Humanity. The ISS is a unique scientific platform that has existed since 1998 and has enabled over 2,400 researchers in 83 countries and areas to conduct more than 1,700 experiments in microgravity through just September 2014, and the research continues… Since November 2, 2000, the ISS has maintained a continuous . Even before it was habitable, the research began on the only orbiting laboratory of its kind. In 2011, when ISS assembly was complete, the focus shifted to fully utilizing the lab for continued scientific research, technology development, , commerce, and education. The tremendous value of the ISS began through the engineering achievement evolving over a decade. Components were built in various countries around the world—all without the benefit of prior ground testing— allowing us to learn a vast amount about construction and about how and systems function in orbit. This testament to the international achievement exemplifies cultural harmonization through cooperative teamwork leading to an international partnership that has continued to flourish and foster international cooperation. While each ISS partner has distinct agency goals for research conducted, a unified goal exists to extend the knowledge gleaned to benefit all humankind.

Value of the Platform

In the first edition of the book released in 2012, the scientific, technological and educational accomplishments of ISS research that have an impact on life on Earth were summarized through a compilation of stories. The many benefits being realized were primarily in the areas of human health, Earth observations and disaster response, and global education. This second edition includes updated statistics on the impacts of those benefits as well as new benefits that have developed since the first publication. In addition, two new sections have been added to the book: Economic Development of Space and Innovative Technology. Economic Development of Space highlights case studies from public-private partnerships that are leading to a new economy in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Businesses provide both transportation to the ISS as well as some research facilities and services. These relationships promote a paradigm shift of government-funded, contractor- provided goods and services to commercially-provided goods purchased by government agencies. Other examples include commercial firms spending their research and development dollars to conduct investigations

x Benefits of Research and Technology

on ISS and commercial service providers selling services directly to ISS users. This section provides examples of the use of ISS as a testbed for new business relationships and illustrates successful partnerships. The second new section, Innovative Technology, merges technology demonstration and physical science findings that promise to return Earth benefits through continued research. Examples include robotic refueling concepts for life extensions of costly satellites in geo-synchronous orbit that have applications to the industry on Earth, flame behavior experiments that reveal insight into how fuel burns in microgravity leading to the possibility of improving engine efficiency on Earth, and nanostructures and smart fluids examples of materials improvements that are being developed using data from ISS. This publication also expands the benefits of research results in human health, environmental change and disaster response and in education activities developed to capture student imaginations in support of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, education, internationally. Applications to human health of the knowledge gained on ISS continue to grow and improve healthcare technologies and our understanding of human physiology. The ISS is a stepping stone for future space exploration, as the only orbiting multi-disciplinary laboratory of its kind returning research results that develop LEO and improve life on our planet. The goal of this publication is to serve as a source of pride to those who read it and learn of the unique shared laboratory orbiting our planet that provides ground for critical technologies and ways to keep humans healthy in space.

Benefits for Humanity Themes

xi Medical team prepares for SYMBIS Surgical System use in the operating room. Image credit: University of Calgary

xii Human Health

The International Space Station is a unique laboratory for performing investigations that affect human health both in space and on Earth. During its time in orbit, the space station has enabled research that is providing a better understanding of many aspects of human health including aging, trauma, disease and environmental impacts. Driven by the need to support astronaut health, several biological and human physiological investigations have yielded important results that we on Earth can also benefit from. These results include new ways to mitigate bone loss, insights into bacterial behavior, and innovative wound- healing techniques. Advances in telemedicine, disease models, psychological stress response systems, nutrition and cell behavior are just a few more examples of the benefits that have been gained from applying studies in orbit to human health back on Earth.

1 2 Health Technology Research on ISS has allowed for innovations in surgical performance through the world’s first robotic technology capable of performing surgery inside MRI machines. This technology is making difficult brain tumor surgeries easier and impossible surgeries possible. Soon, medical technology stemming from space station robotics will enter clinical trials for use in the early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer by providing increased access, precision and dexterity resulting in highly accurate and minimally invasive procedures. Development of an advanced technology solution for pediatric surgery is also in the design stages. In common laser surgeries to correct eyesight, a new technology developed on ISS is now used on Earth to track the patient’s eye and precisely direct a laser scalpel. Thermal regulation research on ISS has also led to the use of sensor technology for monitoring during surgery. When medical facilities are not readily available such as in remote and underdeveloped regions of the world, ultrasound units are used in conjunction with protocols for performing complex procedures rapidly with remote expert guidance and training. These telemedicine and remote guidance techniques empower local healthcare providers, provide patients with access to more timely and diagnostic care, and the healthcare system is made more efficient. A lightweight, easy-to-use device to measure nitric oxide in air exhaled by astronauts on ISS is used to study possible airway inflammation before health problems are encountered. This device is now used at some health centers to monitor levels of asthma control leading to more accurate medication dosing, reduced attacks, and improved quality of life. The study of plasmas (charged gases that can permeate many materials and spread evenly and quickly) reveals that they support the disinfecting of chronic wounds, the neutralization of bacteria, the boosting of tumor inactivation, and even the jumpstarting plant growth.

Robotic arms lend a healing touch which meant designing a that was as dexterous as the human hand but even more precise and tremor- The delicate touch that successfully removed an free. Operating inside the MRI also meant it had to egg-shaped tumor from Paige Nickason’s brain got a be made entirely from safe, MRI compatible materials helping hand from a world-renowned arm—a robotic (for instance, ceramic motors) so that it would not be arm, that is. The technology that went into developing affected by the MRI’s magnetic field or, conversely, neuroArm, the world’s first robot capable of performing disrupt the MRI’s images. The project team developed surgery inside magnetic resonance machines, was novel ways to control the robot’s movements and give born of the (developed in collaboration with the robot’s operator a sense of touch via an intuitive, engineers a MacDonald, Dettwiler, and Associates, Ltd. haptic hand-controller located at a remote work [MDA] for the U.S. Program) as well as station—essential so that the surgeon can precisely Canadarm2 and , the Canadian Space Agency’s control the robot and can feel the tool-tissue interface family of space robots performing the heavy lifting and during the surgery. maintenance aboard the International Space Station. neuroArm began with the search for a solution to a surgical dilemma: how to make difficult surgeries easier or impossible surgeries possible. MDA worked with a Robotic specialists and team led by Dr. Garnette Sutherland at the University of Calgary to develop a highly precise surgeons sought to make that works in conjunction with the advanced imaging difficult surgeries easier or capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. Surgeons wanted to be able to perform impossible surgeries possible. surgeries while a patient was inside an MRI machine,

3 MDA is also continuing to apply its space technologies and know-how to medical for life on Earth. The company has partnered with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, , to collaborate on the design and development of an advanced tech- nology solution for pediatric surgery. Dubbed KidsArm, the sophisticated, teleoperated surgical system is being designed specifically to operate on small children and babies. KidsArm is intended for use by surgeons in conjunction with a high-precision, real-time imag- ing technology to reconnect delicate vessels such as veins, arteries or intestines.

“Where the robot entered my head,” says 21-year-old Paige Nickason, the first patient to have brain surgery performed by a robot, as she points to an area on her forehead. “Now that neuroArm has removed the tumor from my brain, it will go on to help many other people like me around the world.” Image credit: University of Calgary

Since Paige Nickason’s surgery in 2008, neuroArm has Medical team prepares for SYMBIS Surgical been used in initial clinical experience with 35 patients System use in the operating room. who were otherwise inoperable. In 2010, the neuroArm technology was licensed to IMRIS Inc., a private, Image credit: University of Calgary publicly traded medical device manufacturer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, , for development of the next-generation platform and for wide distribution under the name “SYMBIS Surgical System.” In collaboration with the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSII) in Hamilton, Ontario, MDA is IMRIS is advancing the design to commercialize mini- also developing an advanced platform to provide mally invasive brain tumor resection procedures, which a more accurate and less invasive identification allow surgeons to see detailed, 3-D images of the brain and treatment of breast tumors in the MRI. The as well as use surgical tools and hand controllers that image-guided autonomous robot (IGAR) will provide allow the surgeon to feel tissue and apply pressure increased access, precision and dexterity, resulting when he or she operates. SYMBIS has been undergo- in more accurate and less invasive procedures. IGAR ing calibration, testing and validation at Dr. Suther- is currently in the second phase of clinical trials in land’s research facility since March 2015. SYMBIS Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and Quebec City, Quebec, is expected to be able to perform microsurgery and Canada. stereotactic biopsy within the bore of the magnet while real-time MR images are being acquired. The system Watch these videos to learn more: is more compact, with improved haptics, safety no-go neuroArm: http://tinyurl.com/neuroArm zones, motion scaling and tremor filters. SYMBIS is currently being reviewed by the FDA, and once KidsArm: http://tinyurl.com/KidsArm approved, the system will be made available commer- IGAR: http://tinyurl.com/CSA-IGAR cially for other centers worldwide to establish its clinical efficacy through clinical trials.

4 Robots from space lead to one-stop breast cancer diagnosis treatment Technology derived from the highly capable robots designed for the International Space Station may soon increase access to life-saving surgical techniques to fight breast cancer.

ISS technologies enable a robot to provide increased access, precision and dexterity, resulting in highly accurate and minimally invasive surgical procedures. Dr. Mehran Anvari, chief executive officer and scientific director at the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation, with the Image-Guided Autonomous Robot (IGAR) manipulator. A team of collaborative researchers with the Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSII) Image credit: The Hamilton Spectator in Canada is working to enhance the quality and access to healthcare through the development and commercialization of innovative medical robotic technologies. In particular, an advanced platform a much larger problem. The radiologist uses specially is about to enter clinical trials for use in the early designed software to tag the potential target and tell diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. IGAR what path to take. The software then helps the radiologist to make sure he or she is accurately hitting The main player besides the medical staff is a robot. the right area. IGAR has a special tool interface that But not just any robot. This robot’s technology was can be used to define adaptors for any needle-based designed for use aboard the International Space biopsy device or a wide range of instruments that Station by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. remove tissue, known in the medical world as needle- (MDA) for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). based ablation devices. Researchers created the Image-Guided Autonomous Anvari explained that the automated robot is capable Robot (IGAR) from a long line of Canadian heavy of placing the biopsy and ablation tools within 1 lifters and maintenance performers for the space mm of the lesion in question with a high degree of shuttle and space station Canadarm, Canadarm2 targeting accuracy, improving sampling, reducing and Dextre. In dealing with breast cancer, IGAR is the pain of the procedure, reducing time in the MRI expected to provide increased access, precision and suite and reducing cost as a consequence. He also dexterity, resulting in highly accurate and minimally said that using the robot will allow all radiologists to invasive procedures. perform this procedure equally well, regardless of Dr. Mehran Anvari, chief executive officer and scientific the number of cases per year and move the site of director at CSII, said the IGAR platform moves treatment from operation room to radiology suite for the use of robotics in surgery to a new dimension, a significant number of patients. The radiologist can allowing the robot to act in an automated fashion after operate in the challenging magnetic environment of programming by a physician. the MRI, providing access to leading tumor-targeting IGAR is designed to work in combination with an MRI technology. The robot fits on the patient bed, so it can scanner, which is highly sensitive to early detection of travel in and out of the MRI opening easily. This in turn suspicious breast lesions before they possibly turn into simplifies the flow of patients in the department, which

5 IGAR removes most of the “manual” aspects of the procedure and reduces user-dependence and the level of training required. This allows for a standard process regardless of experience. An expert will program remotely once the patient is in the MRI suite. A physician will then supervise to make sure the patient is comfortable and there are no complications. Anvari said this technology lays the foundation for a family of telerobotic systems, and it has the potential to change the way people think about performing these interventions and ensures that specialized, highly-trained doctors are focusing on the activities to which their training is best suited. Anvari believes this technology will improve efficiency in the health care IGAR manipulator and full breast intervention system by streamlining clinical workflow and allowing platform mounted on the patient support highly skilled radiologists to extend their care to a wider structure with a biopsy tool attached. population through teleoperation. Image credit: CSii and MDA This robotic technology is not limited only to biopsies. Duchesne explained that IGAR is paving the way for the minimally invasive excision and treatment of small tumors that are often found incidentally during pre-op MRI. The trend toward breast preservation has brought on the importance of lumpectomies. For tumors that may require this procedure because they are invisible to ultrasound and X-ray mammography, researchers are currently developing the ability for IGAR to deploy a radioactive seed—smaller than a grain of rice—near the area of interest. During surgery, the seed can be Artist rendering of IGAR performing a biopsy. located with a detector, allowing the doctor to identify the lesion and remove it with increased accuracy and Image credit: CSii and MDA patient comfort. It is expected that follow-up surgeries also will be greatly reduced. Whether it be capturing a visiting spacecraft or helping save lives, Canadian-designed robots are lending a can be challenging to many radiologists, optimizing hand. Bringing beneficial technologies from the space patient time to diagnose. station to the ground will hopefully one day allow us to Dr. Nathalie Duchesne, co-investigator on the clinical make historic strides in cancer treatment. study and breast radiologist at the Saint-Sacrament Hospital in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, has been Watch this video to learn more about IGAR: teaching MRI-guided breast biopsy for years and http://tinyurl.com/CSA-IGAR will be performing the first of three clinical trials. She said there are many steps in the procedure that are operator-dependent, and these steps may prevent Improved eye surgery with space good sampling of the lesions if not done properly. hardware Duchesne believes IGAR will decrease the time of the Laser surgery to correct eyesight is common practice, exam, ensure good sampling and increase patient’s and technology developed for use in space is now comfort during the exam. Duchesne and her team commonly used on Earth to track the patient’s eye and think that IGAR will improve sample collection because precisely direct the laser scalpel. it will be less operator-dependent, and it will be constant from one doctor to another, from one patient When looking at a fixed point while tilting or shaking to the other, and from one lesion to the other. one’s head, a reflex allows the eyes to automatically

6 After a flight, it takes several days to weeks for the astronauts to return to normal. The findings point to The device developed for ISS the entire sensory-motor complex and spatial percep- allows the tracking of eye tion relying on gravity as a reference for orientation. position without interfering In parallel with its use on the space station, the engi- neers realized the device had potential for applications with a surgeon’s work during on Earth. Tracking the eye’s position without interfering corrective laser eye surgery. with the surgeon’s work is essential in laser surgery. The proved ideal, and the Eye Track- ing Device equipment is now being used in a large proportion of corrective laser surgeries throughout the world. A commercially available version has been hold steady and see clearly even while this movement delivered to a large number of research laboratories in is taking place. This involves the brain constantly Europe and North America for ground-based studies. interpreting information from the inner ear to maintain balance and stable vision. An essential feature of this sensory system is the use of gravity as a reference. Sensor technologies for high-pressure jobs and operations The Eye Tracking Device experiment researched mechanisms involved in this process and how humans’ Novel sensor technologies used within the joint frames of reference are altered in space. The experi- Thermolab experiment (2009-2012) of ESA/DLR have ment used a specially designed headset fitted with been used for improving our understanding of thermal high-performance, image-processing chips able to regulation of astronauts in space. These sensor track the eyes without interfering with an astronaut’s technologies also hold great potential and benefits for normal work. The results showed that our balance use within many different critical areas from fire-fighting and the overall control of eye movements are indeed to recognizing exhaustion or early overheating. In fact, affected by weightlessness. These two systems work the sensor is currently used in hospitals for monitoring closely together under normal gravity conditions but during surgeries and on intensive care units. become somewhat dissociated in weightlessness. Thermal regulation in the body is vital for our well- being. Our vital organs are kept at a constant of 37° C (98.6 F) whether it is the middle of a freezing winter or on a hot sunny beach. Any disturbance to this stasis can cause symptoms such as physical and mental fatigue or, in the extreme, fatal effects on how the body functions under conditions such as heat stroke and . In weightlessness, the adaptation of the cardiovascular system, the lack of convection in space and the shifting of fluids to the upper half of the body could have a negative influence on thermal regulation.

Sensor technology developed on ISS is now used to monitor

Former ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter undertakes thermal regulation during the Eye Tracking Device experiment on the ISS in surgeries and in intensive 2006. Image credit: ESA care units.

7 noticeable that the body temperature takes longer to cool down to core temperature after exercise. The measurement of the core body temperature together with cardiovascular measurements taken during NASA’s VO2 Max protocol can be used to evaluate the subject’s state of fatigue, which is very important during a space mission for optimising mission success. This makes this non-invasive double sensor a very useful diagnostic tool for recognising early warning signs of fatigue during spacewalks in orbit. On Earth, firefighters, jet pilots, miners, steel workers, soldiers in combat, divers, mountaineers, polar explorers, marine fishermen, and all who work in extreme conditions could benefit from the new measurement technology.

Bringing space station ultrasound to the ends of the Earth Fast, efficient and readily available medical attention is key to survival in a health emergency. When a person is stricken with injury or illness, getting a quick and accurate diagnosis through medical imaging technology can be crucial for ensuring proper NASA astronaut uses the Portable treatment. For people who live in major cities and Pulmonary Function System whilst on the CEVIS towns where fully equipped hospitals are only a quick cycle exercise device during a session of the joint ambulance ride away, that’s not usually a problem. But Thermolab/EKE/VO2Max experiments in August for those without medical facilities within easy reach, it 2012. can mean the difference between life and death. Image credit: NASA For astronauts in orbit about 240 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station, that problem was addressed through the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity (ADUM) investigation. Space station astronauts are trained to use a small ultrasound The Thermolab experiment has been looking at unit aboard the station to examine fellow crewmates. changes in thermal regulation and cardiovascular In the event of a health concern, astronauts could use adaptations in weightlessness by investigating how this facility to diagnose many injuries and illnesses the body heats up and cools down during exercise. with the help of doctors on Earth. Launched in 2011, The testing of this new type of sensor to record the ultrasound unit used for ADUM was replaced the core body temperature in orbit could have novel applications in space and on Earth. This new sensor was developed for DLR by Charité (Berlin) and Draegerwerk (Lübeck) since standard ground measurement in clinics and surgeries use an internal body probe for taking measurements, which is not Medical care becomes more practical in orbit. The sensors measure the skin accessible in remote regions temperature and the heat flow in the skin, which are used to calculate core body temperature using by use of small ultrasound sophisticated algorithms. units and tele-medicine, and Compared to on Earth, core body temperature rises remote guidance techniques, faster during exercise on the International Space Station. This is likely caused by fluid shifts and just like those on ISS. modified heat flow away from the body. It is also

8 with a smaller and even more sophisticated scanner dubbed Ultrasound 2, currently in use aboard the orbiting laboratory. Now those same techniques are being adapted and used for people living in remote, underdeveloped areas where CT scans, MRIs and even simple X-ray exams are impossible. In partnership with the World Interactive Network Focused on Critical Ultrasound (WINFOCUS), ADUM principal investigator Scott Dulchavsky, M.D., is taking techniques originally developed for space station astronauts and adapting them for use in Earth’s farthest corners by developing protocols for performing complex procedures rapidly with remote expert guidance and training. WINFOCUS is a global network organization whose main goal is to use ultrasound as an enabling point- of-care device in an effort to make medical care more accessible in remote regions. Using the ADUM methods, WINFOCUS has trained over 20,000 physicians and physician extenders in 68 countries. This includes two important holistic healthcare NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn assists Canadian projects: in remote areas of Nicaragua (from 2011) and Space Agency astronaut with an in Brazil in a statewide healthcare project in partnership Ultrasound 2 scan in the Columbus Module of the with the Secretary of Health of the State of Minas International Space Station. Gerais (since 2012). Image credit: NASA WINFOCUS has also benefited from the tele-medicine and remote guidance techniques developed for use on the space station, and has adapted and further developed them in order to allow large-scale integration in healthcare systems on Earth through low-cost applications. Local healthcare providers are empowered, more patients can access quality and timely diagnostic care, and the healthcare system is made more accessible and efficient. ADUM’s impact is also felt in modern emergency rooms, proving the effectiveness of ultrasound in diagnosing conditions previously considered beyond its technical capabilities, such as a collapsed lung, which has now become integrated as a standard of care in medical treatments. In addition, the ADUM protocols have proven so effective that they’re now part of the standard medical school curriculum. The American College of Surgeons, which requires ultrasound World Interactive Network Focused on Critical training for all surgical interns and residents, is using Ultrasound (WINFOCUS) and Henry Ford the ADUM program. Innovation Institute members, Dr. Luca Neri and The ADUM investigation and the WINFOCUS Alberta Spreafico work with Kathleen Garcia from partnership have brought the promise of space station Wyle Engineering to help train Dr. Chamorro from research back down to Earth in perhaps the most the rural community of Las Salinas, Nicaragua, using the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in direct and immediate way possible—keeping people Microgravity and tele-ultrasound applications. healthy and alive, even in remote regions where care was previously a limited option. Image credit: WINFOCUS/Missions of Grace

9 Are you asthmatic? Your new helper comes from space A lightweight, easy-to-use Kalle, a 10-year-old boy, is already in favor of space device monitors levels of technology. In the future, he could control his asthma with a small device also used by crew members asthma control leading to aboard the International Space Station. Because of more accurate medication it, he knows almost everything about nitric oxide—an important gas we all breathe out. dosing, reduced attacks, and Nitric oxide, or nitrogen monoxide, as it is properly improved quality of life. called, is both a good and bad molecule, found almost everywhere as an air pollutant that is produced by vehicle exhaust and industrial processes burning fuel. Nitric oxide is a contributor to the damage of the In people with asthma, inflammation in the lung adds layer and easily converts into nitric acid—which may nitric oxide to exhaled air. Measuring the gas can help fall as acid rain. to diagnose the disease and may prevent attacks if the Intriguingly, tiny amounts of nitric oxide are released levels of nitric oxide indicate that medication should locally in inflamed tissue of humans and other be adjusted. mammals. Tracing it back to its source can reveal Nitric oxide is also an interesting molecule on the different diseases. space station. Dust and small particles floating around in weightlessness can be inhaled by the astronauts, possibly triggering inflammation of the airways. It also plays a role in sickness that may arise from spacewalks. The European Space Agency (ESA) uses a lightweight, easy-to-use, accurate device for measuring nitric oxide in exhaled air. The aim is to investigate possible airway inflammation in astronauts and act before it becomes a health problem. Following its development by the Swedish company Aerocrine AB and ESA, the device has been found beneficial in space exploration and everyday use on Earth. NIOX MINO® is now used by patients like Kalle at health centers. They can monitor levels of asthma control and the efficiency of medication—leading to more accurate dosing, reduced attacks and improved quality of life.

Cold plasmas assist in wound healing A unique form of matter could help disinfect wounds, neutralize bacteria, help people heal faster, and even fight cancer—and its potential for human health is now well understood, thanks to research on the International Space Station. The microgravity environment provides Former European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut a powerful method for studying plasmas, one of the Thomas Reiter undertakes science activities for four states of matter along with liquid, solid and gas. the Nitric Oxide Analyzer experiment in 2006. The Plasma Kristall Experiment (PK-3 Plus) lab, a Rus- Image credit: ESA sian-German collaboration, provided new insight into an unusual type of matter known as plasma crystals.

10 Plasma studies reveal applications to disinfect chronic wounds, neutralize bacteria, boost tumor inactivation, and jumpstart plant growth.

Because it is a charged gas, plasma can permeate many materials, spreading evenly and quickly. It can Russian cosmonaut , Expedition disinfect surfaces, and has been proven to neutralize 30 flight engineer, inspects the Plasma Kristall drug-resistant bacteria like methicillin-resistant Experiment laboratory, enclosed in black housing, Staphylococcus aureus within seconds. In more than in its new home in the Poisk Mini-Research 3,500 examples in several clinical trials, physicians Module 2 of the International Space Station. found plasmas can disinfect chronic wounds and help Image credit: RKK- wounds heal faster. Other research has shown that along with chemotherapy, plasma treatment efficiently fights cancer; it can boost tumor inactivation by 500 percent, compared with just chemotherapy. Plasmas can even jumpstart plant growth. knowledge base for the medical spin-offs, according For the researchers involved in PK-3, the technical to Professor Gregor E. Morfill, director at the Max challenges of space-based research provided the Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany. Without space station research, some team members would never have been involved in plasma medicine. The PK-3 lab was designed to study complex or “dusty” plasmas, which get their name from the pres- ence of small, solid particles mixed into the plasma’s charged gases. These particles can dramatically change the behavior of a plasma, and sometimes the particles even form crystalline structures. Dusty plas- mas are found near artificial satellites, occur in Earth’s upper atmosphere, and can be produced in lab set- tings. Physicists favor them because they are relatively easy to control and provide a unique view of physics at the single-particle level. But they can be difficult to study on Earth, because the planet’s gravity affects the way dust particles settle and how they crystallize. This isn’t the case on the space station, however.

Side view of a plasma crystal in the laboratory. Investigations with PK-3 Plus created dusty plasmas Dust particles are suspended in an argon containing argon or neon gas as well as micron-size plasma above a high-frequency electrode particles. The gas molecules received an electric (bottom). The horizontal field of view is 2 cm. charge so they would ionize and form a plasma, and then particles were injected into it. A laser lit up the Image credit: Max Planck Institute for sample while a camera recorded the particles moving Extraterrestrial Physics through the plasma and organizing themselves in

11 crystal structures. Basic experiments tested a wide range of particle sizes and different gas types, and researchers found a plethora of interesting new phenomena. In one example, researchers used the PK-3 Plus high-resolution camera to examine the exact point at which matter changes its phase from liquid to solid. Other experiments tested how waves cause particles in a dusty plasma to move. Beyond basic science, dusty plasmas have several practical applications in space and on Earth. For instance, some computer chips are manufactured using a processing plasma, and removal of microscopic particles is crucial for preventing chip contamination. Understanding how gases and dusty plasmas interact is critical for improving this technology. A better grasp of this interaction could also help scientists create powders containing specific ingredients, for applications like agriculture, hygiene and medicine. And plasmas hold great promise for treating sick and injured people on Earth. Astronauts and cosmonauts operated the PK-3 Plus equipment during 20 separate missions across a six-year period, each lasting about five days. All told, collaborators on the PK-3 Plus investigation and its predecessor, PKE-Nefedov, have published more than 70 scientific papers and given at least 100 presentations at scientific conferences. The past PK investigations may be concluded in space, but plasma medicine research in particular continues to produce new applications—which will further increase with the PK-4 investigation for which new hardware was commissioned on ISS in November 2014.

12 Preventing Bone Loss The common problem of bone loss in the elderly is also observed in astronauts when they are in space. Ongoing studies on ISS indicate a reduction in bone loss and renal stone risk through use of a bisphosphonate and exercise to increase bone load and muscle training, and in a well-balanced, low-sodium diet. In promoting the health of the elderly at risk of osteoporosis, improved scanning technologies are under development to provide a reference technique to enable the early detection of osteoporosis and in the development of more effective countermeasures to its effects.

Preventing bone loss in spaceflight with prophylactic use of bisphosphonate: Health promotion of the elderly by space medicine technologies Bone loss and kidney stones are well-known as essential problems for astronauts to overcome during extended stays in space. Crew members engage in physical exercise for two-and-a-half hours a day, six times a week (15 hours a week) while in orbit to avoid these issues. Nevertheless, the risks of these problems occurring cannot be completely eliminated through physical exercise alone.

Ongoing studies indicate a reduction in bone loss and renal stone risk through use of a bisphosphonate and exercise.

JAXA astronaut performs exercise aboard the International Space Station. Bone plays an important role as a structure that supports the body and stores calcium. It retains Image credit: JAXA/NASA fracture resistance by remodeling through a balance of bone resorption and formation. In a microgravity environment, because of reduced loading stimuli, there is increased bone resorption and no change in or possibly decreased bone formation, leading to three or four years. The calcium balance (the difference bone mass loss at a rate of about 10 times that of between intake and excretion), which is about zero on osteoporosis. The proximal femoral bone loses 1.0 Earth, decreases to about -250 mg/day during flight, a to 1.5 percent of its mass per month, or roughly 6 value that increases the risk of kidney stones. to 10 percent over a six-month stay in space, with Bisphosphonate is a therapeutic agent that has been the recovery after returning to Earth taking at least used to treat osteoporosis patients for more than

13 Astronauts enjoy meals aboard the International Space Station. Image credit: JAXA/NASA

a decade, with a proven efficacy to increase bone Bone loss is also observed in bedridden older people. mass and decrease the occurrence of bone fracture. Elderly people lose 1 or 2 percent per year of their Through 90-day bed rest research on Earth, we bone mass because of aging and a decline in the confirmed that this agent has a preventive effect on amount of female hormone. Osteoporosis is declared the loss of bone mass. Based on these results as well when a person has a bone mass 30 percent lower as studies conducted by others, Japan Aerospace than the average for young adults, which is a condition Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA decided to affecting 13 million Japanese and one in two women collaborate on a space biomedical experiment to aged 70 years and older. Every year, 160 thousand prevent bone loss during spaceflight. Dr. Adrain patients undergo operations for femoral neck fractures Leblanc, United Space Research Association, and Dr. in Japan, followed by intense rehabilitation for three Toshio Matsumoto, Tokushima University, are the two months. Such operations cost 1.5 million yen per principal investigators of this study. person, and the total annual expense for medical JAXA and NASA crew members are participating in treatments and care of these bone fractures amounts this study by taking this agent once a week while in to 66.57 billion yen in total national cost. space. The study is still ongoing; however, early results The three key elements for promoting the health suggest that astronauts can significantly reduce the of elderly people to prevent fractures are nutrition, risk of bone loss and renal stones with the combination exercise and medicine. Meals should be nutritionally of resistive exercise and an antiresorptive such as a balanced with calcium-rich foods (milk, small fish, bisphosphonate. etc.) and vitamin D (fish, mushrooms, etc.). Limited

14 sunbathing is also important for activation of vitamin of kinetics of recovery after flight. ESA supported D. Physical exercise to increase bone load and muscle the development of the enhanced 3-D scanner by training should also be integrated into each person’s the Institute for Biomedical Engineering in Zürich daily life. Those at high risk for fractures should take and Scanco Medical as part of ESA’s Microgravity effective medicines to reduce the risk of fractures. Applications Programme (MAP). The scanner is Accordingly, the secrets of the promotion of providing high-quality, 3-D images of living bone astronauts’ health obtained from space medicine are structures as part of this ground experiment. This is expected to be utilized to promote the health of elderly backed up by analysis of bone biochemical markers people and the education of children. in blood samples. One important element that has derived from this research into bone loss in space is the successful Improved scanning technologies and commercialisation of the 3DpQCT scanner, of which insights into osteoporosis ESA supported the development, for a non-invasive/in ESA’s Early Detection of Osteoporosis in Space (EDOS) vivo technique for observation of bone structure. experiment has been testing skeletal adaptation to The EDOS project has been assessing the efficiency long-term space exposure by using 3-D peripheral of such a technique and will contribute to the devel- quantitative computed tomography (3DpQCT) as a opment of a reference technique to perform an early technique for detection of bone structure. It has been detection of osteoporosis on Earth in a unique way. providing a detailed evaluation of the bone loss and These improved diagnostics in the early stages of such a medical condition may prove extremely important in development of more effective countermeasures to the effects of osteoporosis. In 2006, according to the Inter- national Osteoporosis Foundation, 8.9 million fractures Early detection of osteoporosis, were estimated worldwide. The project will continue and the development of more within the EDOS-2 project, which will commence in collaboration with in spring 2015 in conjunction effective treatments, link with the first one-year mission. astronauts to patients on Earth. Good diet, proper exercise help protect astronauts’ bones Eating right and exercising hard in space helps protect International Space Station astronauts’ bones, a finding that may help solve one of the key problems facing future explorers heading beyond low-Earth orbit. A study published in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research looked at the mineral density of specific bones as well as the entire skeleton of astronauts who used a new, stronger “ lifting” machine. Of course, don’t really

After 51 years of , we have made significant in protecting bone health Xtreme CT distal radius. through diet and exercise. Image credit: SCANCO Medical

15 “weigh” anything on the space station, but resistance Bone density loss in astronauts on long-duration machines allow astronauts to get the same kind of missions has been a major medical concern. In the workout. The new Advanced Resistive Exercise Device past, astronauts have lost an average of 1 to 2 percent (ARED), installed in 2008, doubles the maximum per month. By comparison, an elderly person loses simulated weight to as much as 600 pounds. about 1 to 2 percent per year. Researchers compared measurements from 2006 This study shows that, through proper exercise and until 2008 when astronauts used a less capable nutrition, crew members on long journeys in space can workout machine. They found that astronauts using the return to Earth with much less loss of bone mineral advanced system came home with more lean muscle density. But a key question remains as to whether the and less fat and kept more of their whole body and bones are as strong as when the astronaut launched regional bone mineral density. Those same astronauts into space. For these and other reasons, additional also consumed sufficient calories and vitamin D, among studies to evaluate bone strength before and after flight other nutrients. These factors are known to support are currently under way. bone health and likely played a contributing role. Beyond bone strength, further study is needed to After 51 years of human spaceflight, these data mark figure out the best possible combination of exercise the first significant progress in protecting bone through and diet for long-duration crews. One experiment on diet and exercise. Since the 1990s, resistance exercise the space station right now is looking at how different has been thought to be a key method of protecting ratios of animal protein and potassium in the diet astronauts’ bones. Normal, healthy bone constantly affect bone health. Another is looking at the benefits breaks down and renews itself, a process called remodeling. As long as these processes are in balance, bone mass and density stay the same. Earlier studies of Russian space station residents found an increased rate of breakdown but little change in the rate of regrowth, resulting in an overall loss in bone density. In the new study, astronauts who used the ARED device still had increased bone breakdown, but their bone renewal tended to increase, likely resulting in a better balance in whole bone-mineral density.

NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams, Expedition NASA Astronaut Dan Burbank, 22 commander, exercises using the Advanced commander, exercises using the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device in the Tranquility node of Resistive Exercise Device aboard the International the International Space Station. Space Station. Image credit: NASA Image credit: JAXA/NASA

16 of lowering sodium intake. NASA food scientists have reformulated more than 80 space foods to reduce the sodium content. ISS research provides insight Information gained through space station studies like into the benefits of reduced these will be critical in enabling humans to explore sodium and increased destinations beyond low-Earth orbit. bicarbonate consumption for those prone to osteoporosis. Add salt? Astronauts’ bones say please don’t Osteoporosis is a harsh disease that reduces the can regain their lost bone mass in time once they are quality of life for millions and costs Europe around back on Earth. €25 billion ($31 billion) each year. It typically affects the elderly, so the rise in life expectancy in developed Studying what happens during long offers countries means the problems inflicted by osteoporosis a good insight into the process of osteoporosis—losing are increasing. calcium and changing bone structure—and helps to develop methods to combat it. Fortunately, research done in space may change the game. Astronauts on the International Space Station It has been known since the 1990s that the human experience accelerated osteoporosis because of body holds on to sodium, without the corresponding weightlessness, but it is carefully controlled, and they water retention, during long stays in space. But the

European Space Agence (ESA) astronaut André Kuipers (left) and Russian cosmonaut (right) with food items on the International Space Station in December 2011. In the SOdium LOad in microgravity experiment, astronaut subjects undergo two different diet regimes to determine the physiological effects of sodium on the body. Image credit: ESA

17 textbooks said this was not possible. “Sodium reten- tion in space” became an important subject to study. Salt intake was investigated in a series of studies, in ground-based simulations and in space, and it was found that not only is sodium retained (probably in the skin), but it also affects the acid balance of the body and bone . So, high salt intake increases acidity in the body, which can accelerate bone loss. The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) recent SOdium LOad in microgravity (SOLO) study zoomed in on this question. Nine crew members, including ESA’s and during their long-duration flights in 2010 and 2011, followed low- and high-salt diets. The expected results may show that additional negative effects can be avoided either by reducing sodium intake or by using a simple alkalizing agent like bicarbonate to counter the acid imbalance. European Space Agence (ESA) astronaut Frank This space research directly benefits De Winne undertakes a body mass measurement, everybody on Earth who is prone to osteoporosis. an essential element of the SOdium LOad in microgravity experiment, on the space station. Image credit: ESA

The SOdium LOad in microgravity experiment carries out research into salt retention and its effect on bone metabolism in astronauts, which can help provide insights into medical conditions on Earth, such as osteoporosis. 3-D pQCT image of osteoporotic bone. Image credit: Istockphoto/S.Kaulitzki Image credit: Scanco Medical AG

18 Immune Defenses Virtually the entire population is infected with one of eight herpes viruses, four of which reactivate and appear in body fluids in response to the stress of spaceflight. A patent-pending device designed for use in either a doctor’s office or on a spacecraft allow for the rapid detection of one of these viruses (VZV), which can lead to earlier treatment and prevent the onset of painful shingles. Microgravity studies on ISS help researchers pinpoint genetic triggers for immune responses in T-cells leading to future medical treatments on Earth for immunosuppression. Determining the changes that occur to the immune system in space is providing the means to develop targeted countermeasures to adverse effects in space, as well as provid- ing additional information for targeted treatments on Earth for the development of pharmaceuticals that can suppress immune response to help manage autoimmune diseases or organ transplants.

Early detection of immune changes prevents painful shingles in astronauts and in Earth-bound patients1 The physiological, emotional and psychological stress associated with spaceflight can result in decreased immunity that reactivates the virus that causes shingles, a disease punctuated by painful skin lesions. NASA has developed a technology that can detect immune changes early enough to begin treatment before painful lesions appear in astronauts and people here on Earth. This early detection and treatment will reduce the duration of the disease and the incidence of long-term consequences.

Space research has led to the rapid detection of Varicella (chickenpox virus), which improves treatment of shingles.

Spaceflight alters some elements of the human immune system: innate immunity, an early line of Varicella zoster-infected MeWo cells showing defense against infectious agents, and specific compo- typical herpes virus-induced, multinucleated giant nents of cellular immunity are decreased in astronauts. cells. Cultures are stained with acrydine orange to Astronauts do not experience increased incidence or identify RNA (red) in the cytoplasm. severity of infectious disease during short-duration Image credit: NASA spaceflight, but NASA scientists are concerned about

1Adapted from an original article that appeared in NASA Technology Innovation, Vol 15; 3, 2010; NP-2010-06-658-HQ.

19 how the immune system will function over the long for each specific virus. The finding of VZV in saliva of stays in space that may be required for exploration astronauts was the first report of VZV being reactivated missions. and shed in asymptomatic individuals, therefore posing To determine specific causes of decreased immunity in a risk of disease in uninfected individuals. However, the healthy individuals is difficult, but the herpes viruses PCR assay requires large, complex equipment, which have become valuable tools in early detection of is not practical for spaceflight. changes in the immune system, based largely on the To overcome this obstacle, NASA developed a rapid astronaut studies. Eight herpes viruses may reside in method of detection of VZV in body fluids, and a the human body, and virtually all of us are infected by patent application is currently pending for it. The new one or more of these viruses. Herpes viruses cause technology requires a small sample of saliva, which is diseases including common “fever blisters” (herpes mixed with specialized reagents that produce a red simplex virus or HSV), infectious mononucleosis color only when VZV is present. This technology makes (Epstein-Barr virus or EBV), chickenpox and shingles possible early detection, before the appearance of skin (varicella zoster virus or VZV). In immune-suppressed lesions. Early detection allows for early administration individuals, herpes viruses may cause several types of of antiviral therapy and thus limits nerve damage and cancer, such as carcinoma, lymphoproliferative disease prevents overt disease. The device is designed for use and others. in doctors’ offices or spacecraft and can be modified According to the Centers for Disease Control and easily for use with other viruses in saliva, urine, Prevention, one million cases of shingles occur yearly blood and spinal fluid. The sensitivity and specificity in the U.S., and 100,000 to 200,000 of these cases emanates from an antibody-antigen reaction. develop into a particularly painful and sometimes In another collaborative study, NASA and University of debilitating condition known as post-herpetic neuralgia, Colorado Health Science Center (Denver) researchers which can last for months or years. The other seven developed a tool to assess stress hormones during herpes viruses also exist in an inactive state in different space shuttle missions. Saliva samples are collected body tissues much like VZV, and similarly they may on individual filter paper strips and tested once also reactivate and cause disease during periods of back on Earth. The test measures cortisol and decreased immunity. dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), two important stress The most common cause of decreasing immunity and immune regulatory hormones. The filter paper is age, but chronic stress also results in decreased also can be used for proteins and other molecules immunity and increases risk of the secondary disease, of interest in saliva. Booklets of these filter papers such as VZV-driven shingles. Chemotherapy, organ now are being used in university and government transplants and infectious diseases, such as human laboratories for remote saliva collection. These studies immunodeficiency virus (HIV), also result in decreased demonstrate the potential value of bringing to the immunity. Thus, viral reactivation has been identified general public a technology that could prevent a as an important indicator of clinically relevant immune painful and debilitating condition in up to one million changes. Studies of immune-compromised individuals people each year in the U.S. alone. indicate that these patients shed EBV in saliva at rates 90-fold higher than found in healthy individuals. Station immunology insights for Earth The herpes viruses are already present in astronauts, and space as they are in at least 95 percent of the general adult population worldwide. So measuring the appearance When people get sick, their immune systems kick into of herpes viruses in astronaut body fluids is critical. It is gear to tell their bodies how to heal. T-cells—white widely believed that various stressors associated with blood cells that act like tiny generals—order an army spaceflight are responsible for the observed decreased of immune cells to organize and attack the enemy. immunity. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Microgravity studies aboard the International Space Center found that four human herpes viruses reactivate Station are helping researchers pinpoint what drives and appear in body fluids in response to spaceflight. these responses, leading to future medical treatments Due to the reduced cellular immunity, the viruses can on Earth. emerge from their latent state into active infectious Scientists have known since the early days of human agents. The multiplying viruses are released into saliva, spaceflight that living in microgravity suppresses urine or blood and can be detected and quantified the immune system. During the , by a method called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for instance, 15 of the 29 astronauts developed an

20 Results revealed that specific genes within T-cells showed down regulation—a decrease in cell Microgravity studies on ISS response—when exposed to microgravity. This help researchers pinpoint combined down regulation in the genetics of T-cells leads to a reduction in the body’s defense against genetic triggers for immune infections during spaceflight in various ways. For responses in T-cells leading to instance, there is a reduced proinflammatory response, the cell’s protective reaction to initiate healing. Cells future medical treatments. also produce fewer cytokines, the proteins responsible for signaling communications between cells. There is even a negative impact to a cell’s ability to multiply, known as mitogenesis, the chromosomal splitting in a infection either during or right after flight. Forty years cell nucleus necessary for cell reproduction. later, Leukin results show that immunosuppression Examples of immunosuppression on Earth include begins within the first 60 hours of flight. the AIDS-related HIV infection, rheumatoid arthritis Findings from this investigation, led by Millie Hughes- and even age-related impacts to the immune system, Fulford, Ph.D., a former NASA astronaut and director which is why the elderly have a difficult time fighting off of the Laboratory of Cell Growth at the University of infections like pneumonia. Identifying how the immune California, San Francisco, enabled researchers to system works at the cellular level provides a powerful pinpoint some specific genetic triggers for the go/no tool to develop treatments at the root of the defense go of the immune system responses in the T-cells. It response. This is like a negotiation for peace talks was the first time scientists have been able to prove before conflict breaks out, instead of trying to raise that gravity is making a difference in activation of the a white flag in the midst of an already raging battle. T-cell. A healthy body depends on these T-cells giving If doctors can isolate and control specific immune orders for the immune system to function properly responses, they increase the chance for recovery. With as it marches into battle. There are factors that can the removal of gravity as its own variable, the data hinder victory, however, such as signal interruption, gathered from immune studies in space can be used delayed responses or even outright cell death. A to help understand some of the immune challenges suppressed immune system is like an army with an seen in these populations on Earth. ineffective leader, significantly reducing the chances of Hughes-Fulford launched a follow-on immunology a successful fight. study aboard the space station, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and spon- sored by the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/). Launching on the SpaceX-3 commercial resupply mission, the investiga- tion, called T-Cell Activation in Aging, investigates at another class of control points in T-cells that trigger immune response. Finding the genes that tell the cells to turn on and off is key to advancing medical options to improve immune system functions. Data analysis is underway, with the potential to pinpoint new candidate pharmaceutical targets to treat immunosuppression.

Targeted treatments to improve immune response Cell experiments have been uncovering Expedition 30 Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers, European Space Agency, works with the different aspects of altered immune system response Kubik facility in the Columbus Module of the in weightlessness. Determining the changes that International Space Station. occur to the immune system in space is providing the means to develop targeted countermeasures Image credit: NASA to adverse effects in space, as well as providing

21 in the immune system in space using biological samples processed at body temperature at 0 g and ISS research provides 1 g (centrifuge) in orbit. This has included discovering the means to develop reduced function in monocyte white blood cells that is due to a disrupted cytoskeleton. This is an pharmaceuticals and targeted apparent inhibition of the Protein Kinase C family treatments that can suppress of enzymes and a specific immune cell transmitter, called the Rel/NF-κB pathway, which stops working in immune response to help deal weightlessness. All of these are important mechanisms with autoimmune diseases or in immune response. organ transplants. One of the most recent ESA experiments in this domain was the ROle of Apoptosis in Lymphocyte Depression (ROALD) experiment series, which was undertaken in 2008 with a follow-up experiment in additional information for targeted treatments on Earth. 2011. In the first part of the experiment, researchers This could either be for the purpose of developing discovered that a particular enzyme called 5-LOX, pharmaceuticals that can improve treatment which in part regulates the life expectancy of human and recovery from certain medical conditions or cells, became more active in weightlessness and alternatively targeted treatments that can suppress could play a real role in causing weakened immune immune response, for example to help deal with systems. The 5-LOX enzyme can be blocked with autoimmune diseases or organ transplants. existing drugs, so using these findings to improve human health could be a close reality. Additional efforts Research undertaken in the Kubik incubators has to understand this treatment pathway, targeting patient uncovered many altered mechanisms that occur treatment on Earth, is ongoing.

ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter undertakes in-orbit activities for one of ESA’s immunology experiments in 2006. Image credit: ESA

22 Developing New Therapies Studying the unique and complicated structures of proteins in the human body leads to the development of medical treatments. Microgravity allows unique conditions for growth of protein crystals where there is no gravity or convection to disrupt their growth. The protein expressed in certain muscle fibers of patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which affects 1 in 3,500 boys, has been successfully crystallized in space revealing a new inhibitor several hundred times stronger than the prototype inhibitor. Microencapsulation is the process by which tiny, liquid-filled, biodegradable micro-balloons are created containing specific combinations of concentrated anti-tumor drugs. The goal is to deliver this medication using specialized needles to specific treatment sites within a cancer patient. The microgravity environment, where density differences do not cause layering of the medication, has allowed for the development of devices on Earth to create these microcapsules and devices that will aid in the drug delivery using this technology. Progress continues towards clinical studies in cancer patients one day in the future. Ongoing research of gravitational unloading supported by dry immersion technology allows for a broad spectrum of possible clinical applications such as the early diagnosis of slow-developing neurological disorders, the combating of edema that responds poorly to medication, post-operative rehabilitation, sports medicine and rehabilitation for premature babies.

High-quality protein crystal growth is space; microgravity means there is no convection experiment aboard Kibo to disrupt the liquid solution, nor is there precipitation to cause heavier molecules to sink. Therefore, protein There are more than 100,000 proteins in the human molecules form orderly, high-quality crystals that body and as many as 10 billion in nature. Every provide optimal structures for study. Many crystals structure is different, and each one of them holds of various proteins have been created in the unique important information related to our health and to the environment of space. global environment. Each protein has a unique and complicated structure, which is closely related to its The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) function. Therefore, revealing protein structure leads has conducted nine sessions of protein crystallization to an understanding of its function. However, it is experiments since 2003 in the Zvezda service module difficult to analyze protein structures here on Earth, and has developed techniques to produce high-quality where gravity interferes with optimal growth. The protein crystals in space. Based on these techniques, perfect environment in which to study these structures JAXA executed six sessions of experiments for the first series for the High-quality Protein Crystal Growth experiment (JAXA PCG) in the Japanese Kibo module on the space station from July 2009 to May 2013. JAXA is conducting another six sessions in total as Microgravity allows for the second series by periodic flight opportunities of six- optimal growth of the unique month intervals. The first session of the second-series experiments started in March 2014. and complicated crystal Through collaboration with the Russian Federal Space structures of proteins leading Agency (Roscosmos), protein samples are launched to the development of medical to the space station aboard the Russian Progress or spacecraft. Soon after the docking, the samples treatments. are brought into Kibo to be placed inside the Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) where they

23 Advantage of the Space Experiment. Because the structure of the disease-causing protein, or the keyhole, is vague when it is obtained on the ground, the shape of the key, or a medicine candidate compound for treatment cannot be determined. However, it is possible to find the structure of the disease-causing protein through the space experiments and medicine that fits the treatment (the key that fits the keyhole) can be developed. Image credit: JAXA

are kept for a period of one-and-a-half to four months muscle disorder, DMD is the most common form of at a stable temperature, 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 muscular dystrophy, affecting approximately 1 in 3,500 degrees Celsius). A counter- method called boys. DMD causes muscular wasting and accelerates “Gel-Tube method” is used for crystallization whereby the progression of muscular deterioration. It is an polyethylene glycol or salt solution is diffused into the obstinate disease for which a fundamental mode of protein solution separated by a porous membrane treatment has not yet been found. Therefore, H-PGDS- inside a tube. In this method, of specific inhibitors are considered to be useful drugs for polyethylene glycol in the protein solution gradually muscular dystrophy. increases and finally satisfies the condition for protein crystallization. One of the major purposes of the protein crystal growth experiments is the contribution to the development of medical treatments. The relationship between a certain protein that causes disease and its medicine that suppresses the disease can be compared to the relationship between a “keyhole” and its “key.” If the shape of the keyhole becomes apparent by examining the structure of the protein, treatment- oriented medicine with few side effects—the key to fit the keyhole—can be designed. JAXA is making positive advancements in research on obstinate diseases through experiments in space with the hope of supporting medical care more effectively. High-quality crystals of H-PGDS-Inhibitor complexes. An example of a protein that was successfully The detailed structure of muscular dystrophy crystallized in space is hematopoietic prostaglandin related-protein became clear through a space D synthase (H-PGDS). This protein may hold the key experiment. to treating disease. A research team at the Osaka Bioscience Institute (OBI) reported that H-PGDS is Image credit: Osaka Bioscience Institute/ expressed in certain muscle fibers of patients with Tsukuba University/Maruwa Foods and Biosciences, Inc./JAXA Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). An inherited

24 The OBI research team has successfully determined Dr. Dennis Morrison of NASA’s the 3-D structure of H-PGDS in a complex with used the microgravity environment aboard the space a prototype H PGDS-specific inhibitor. H-PGDS station for microencapsulation experiments as a tool has been crystallized several times in microgravity to develop the Earth-based technology, called the as part of JAXA’s space experiments. Using X-ray Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing System-II crystallographic analysis—using X-rays to determine (MEPS-II), to make the most effective microcapsules. the structure—researchers determined the structure The technique for making these microcapsules could of the high-quality crystals of H-PGDS-inhibitor not be done on Earth, because the different densities complexes grown in space, and as a result, discovered of the liquids would layer. But in space, microgravity a new inhibitor with several hundred times stronger brought together two liquids incapable of mixing activity than the prototype inhibitor. This particular on Earth (80 percent water and 20 percent oil) in experiment is an example of how understanding a such a way that spontaneously caused liquid-filled protein’s structure can lead to better drug designs. microcapsules to form as spherical, tiny, liquid-filled Further research is ongoing. bubbles surrounded by a thin, semipermeable, outer membrane. In space, shapes liquids into spheres. Cancer-targeted treatments from space Each molecule on a liquid’s surface is pulled with station discoveries equal tension by its neighbors. The closely integrated Invasive and systemic cancer treatment is a necessary molecules form into the smallest possible area, which evil for many people with the devastating diagnosis. is a sphere. In effect, the MEPS-II system allowed a These patients endure therapies with ravaging side combination of liquids in a bubble shape because effects, including nausea, immune suppression, hair surface tension took over and allowed the fluids loss and even organ failure, in hopes of eradicating to interface rather than sit atop one another. Studying cancerous tissues in the body. If treatments targeted a the samples upon return to Earth allowed scientists to patient’s cancerous tissues, it could provide clinicians understand how to make a device that could create with an alternative to lessen the delivery of toxic levels the same microcapsules on Earth. of chemotherapy or radiation. Remarkably, research that began in space may soon result in such options here on Earth. Using the distinctive, microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station, a particular series of research investigations is making further advancements in cancer therapy. A process investigated aboard the space station known as microencapsulation is able to produce tiny, liquid-filled, biodegradable micro-balloons containing specific combinations of concentrated anti-tumor drugs. Using specialized needles, doctors could deliver these micro-balloons, or microcapsules, directly to specific treatment sites within a cancer patient, effectively revolutionizing cancer treatment.

The oil contains a visualization marker that is The microgravity environment traceable by ultrasound and CT scans to allow has allowed for the develop- doctors to follow the microcapsules as they are site-specifically delivered to the tumor. The ment of devices on Earth to semipermeable outer skin releases the drug create microcapsules that slowly, through its physical ability to be timed released. could aid in drug delivery. Image credit: NuVue Therapeutics, Inc.

25 After achieving full FDA approval, planned clinical trials will involve injecting the microcapsules with the anti- tumor drugs directly into tumor sites in humans at both MD Anderson Cancer Center in and the Mayo Cancer Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. Given the success in animal models in laboratory studies with human prostate and lung tumor treatment, Morrison has high hopes in the near future of being able to begin use of the microcapsule treatment in breast cancer. These kinds of technologies are enabled by the availability of the microgravity environment aboard the space station. Just as microgravity can aid in the discovery of new technologies for cancer treatment, Dr. Dennis Morrison poses with the these microcapsules may one day aid in the recovery Microencapsulation Electrostatic Processing of breast and other specific deep-tissue cancers. System flight hardware that was used on the International Space Station to produce microcapsules for cancer treatment delivery. Using weightlessness to treat Image credit: NASA multiple ailments The technology of dry immersion was developed as an Earth-based model to study the effect of micrograv- ity factors on the human body. Using this model, the The MEPS-II system is now being brought to com- effectiveness of measures developed to prevent the mercial scale under U.S. Food and Drug Administra- negative impact of spaceflight factors on people has tion (FDA) Good Manufacturing Practice requirements, been and continues to be evaluated. The countermea- and commercialization of the MEPS technology and sures currently used on the International Space Station methods to develop new applications for these unique were tested in experiments involving dry immersion. microcapsules has already begun. The space station research led to 13 licensed microcapsule-related pat- ents and two that are pending. In laboratory testing, MEPS-II microcapsules containing Ongoing research on dry anticancer drugs were injected directly into a human prostate and lung tumors in animal models. These immersion technology allows models were then, in follow-on tests, also injected for a broad spectrum of following the delivery of specific cryo-surgical effects, similar to a freeze and thaw effect on the tumorous possible clinical applications. tissues. Injecting the microcapsules directly into the tumor demonstrated improved site-specific therapeutic results and the inhibition of tumor growth. Following cryo-surgery, the microcapsules demonstrated Experts at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) improved destruction of the tumor better than freezing developed the automated immersion system to create or local chemotherapy alone. water hypodynamia (utility model patent #44505 Though Morrison’s previous laboratory studies of “Immersion bath” and invention patent #2441713 microcapsules were primarily focused on prostate and “Polymer covering and device for dry immersion”). lung cancer, his studies now target breast cancer for The concept of the technology involves submerging the FDA approval process through development with a person in an immersion bath filled with water. The NuVue Therapeutics, Inc. Though it will take a few immersion system is an ergonomically designed years to get approval to use the microcapsules as a tub with a built-in elevation mechanism, filtration, treatment option filled with anti-tumor drug therapies, and temperature control systems. The subject is several devices that will aid in drug delivery using this kept separate from the water by a thin water-proof technology are planned for pre-clinical study as early cloth with an area significantly exceeding the area of as 2015. the water’s surface. In this way, conditions closely

26 simulating the lack of gravity are recreated. As a result, changes typical of acute gravitational unloading are reproduced in the body. The potential use of the system for health purposes relates to the specific physiological changes in the body caused by gravitational unloading. In particular, acute disruptions occur in the mechanisms of sensory interaction. These disruptions counteract compensatory processes in the central nervous system resulting in discovery of latent neurological disruptions. Treatment with dry immersion is also accompanied by a number of physiological shifts such as the redistribution of fluids in the body, which have positive effects in certain cardiovascular conditions such as edema. The drug-free method of dry immersion offers the user: relaxation of muscles; increase in immunity; elimination of edema; and, normalization of blood Dry Immersion Complex (prototype). pressure, thus making it possible to use the immersion Image credit: Institute of Biomedical Problems, system for the early diagnosis of slow-developing Russia neurological disorders and to combat massive edema that responds poorly to pharmacological remedies. Its use may also be an effective mechanism in rehabilitative treatment in areas such as psychoneurology, traumatology, orthopedics (post- operative rehabilitation), sports medicine, clinical neurophysiology, and applied psycho-physiology. The use of the immersion system is also a particularly valuable rehabilitation measure for premature babies who are exposed to the effects of gravity following the intrauterine environment. Perinatal damage to the central nervous system (hyperexcitability; depressive, muscle hypertonia, and cephalohematoma syndromes) is an opportunity for the use of the dry immersion method. Additional uses for dry immersion include treatment of immune disorders, hormone imbalances, muscle disease, wound healing, and cardiovascular health. New prototype of the automated immersion The spectrum of possible applications of this system system used in clinics. that simulates spaceflight conditions, such as those Image credit: Aerospace Medical Center and experienced by the International Space Station, is fairly Technology broad and will expand with further study.

27 28 Food and the Environment Microbiology is a vitally important area, not only within human spaceflight but also for humans on Earth. Microorganisms such as bacteria, archea, fungi and algae have a detrimental or a beneficial impact on our daily lives. This research has far-reaching effects feeding into many different areas of biotechnology as microorganisms have a role in food spoilage, waste and sewage treatment and processing, nutrient cycling and exchange, pollution control, and in increased greenhouse gases. Studying the effects of gravity on plants led to the development of an ethylene scrubber. This technology is now used as an air purifier that destroys airborne bacteria, mold, fungi, viruses, and odors. The scrubber is used for food preservation in major supermarkets, high-end refrigerator technology, and in trucks that carry groceries to remote regions of countries such as India, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to name a few. Even the health care industry benefits from the use of these units in clinics, operating rooms, neonatal wards and waiting rooms making these locations safer for their inhabitants. Plant research in a space greenhouse has allowed the study of root zone substrates in space allowing scientists to improve predictions of how artificial soils will behave when irrigated both in space and on Earth in experimental forests.

Microbiology applications from fungal • They can spoil food but assist in waste and sewage research in space treatment and processing as well as nutrient cycling and exchange. Microbiology is a vitally important area, not only within human spaceflight but also for humans on Earth. With • Assist in pollution control but also increase green- this microscopic world encompassing microorganisms house gases. such as bacteria, archea, fungi and algae that can have both a detrimental or beneficial impact on our daily lives, this research has far-reaching effects feeding into many different areas of biotechnology. Microorganisms have both negative and beneficial effects, and different species of fungi are inherent in many of these processes.

Microbiology research on ISS provides insight into how microorganisms can spoil food, assist in waste and sewage treatment, and in Flight day 5 sample from the Coloured Fungi in pollution control. Space experiment. Image credit: CFS-A science team

29 • Cause disease but can be used in the manufacture important insights for developing countermeasures of antibiotics, detergents and pesticides. to possibly deleterious microorganisms, help to draw • Cause deterioration in manufactured materials and conclusions on how the may buildings but can also be used in the recover of affect similar organisms, and could also feed into metals in the mining sector as well as the produc- biotechnology applications in the future. tion of biofuels and fertilizers. The main fungal species studied in the CFS-A Insights into one species may provide insights into experiment was Ulocladium chartarum, which is well others and hence feed into different applications. known to be involved in biodeterioration of organic and inorganic materials and suspected to be a possible The Growth and Survival of Coloured Fungi in Space-A contaminant in spacecraft. Other species studied (CFS-A) experiment determined the changes that were Aspergillus niger (which causes a disease weightlessness and cosmic radiation have on the called black mold on certain fruits and vegetables, growth and survival of various coloured fungi species. and commercially accounts for 99 percent of global Understanding any changes in the physiology and commercial citric acid production); Cladosporium survivability of different microorganisms in space herbarum (frequently the most prominent mold spore in can help determine the effect that this may have on air and found on dead herbaceous and woody plants, spacecraft, associated systems and supplies, as well textiles, rubber, paper, and foodstuffs of all kinds); and as the astronauts inhabiting them. This could provide Basipetospora halophile (which survives in high-saline environments). The CFS-A experiment clearly indicated that Ulocladium chartarum is able to grow under spaceflight conditions, elaborating a new strategy to survive for a short time by developing submerged mycelium and for a long time by developing sporulating microcolonies on the surface of the nutrient source on which it was cultured. In spacecraft, U. chartarum and other fungal species could find a favorable environment to grow invasively unnoticed in the depth of surfaces under the right conditions posing a risk factor for biodegradation of structural components, as well as a direct threat for crew health. This will be especially important for future long-duration missions outside of low-Earth orbit where astronauts will have to be more self-sufficient for maintaining spacecraft and systems, and some food supplies would need to be preserved for longer than potentially 18 months. However, on the same line, in the future this kind of research could potentially feed into strategies for waste recycling on spacecraft and the development of biological life support systems. As we gain knowledge of the life histories of key species of fungi in the space environment, that knowledge can be readily applied to better manage these species on Earth.

Plant growth on ISS has global impacts on Earth Understanding the effects of gravity on plant life is Fungi on the ISS, grows on a panel of the Russian Module where exercise clothes were hung essential in preparation for human exploration beyond to dry. low-Earth orbit. The ability to produce high-energy, low-mass food sources during spaceflight will enable Image credit: NASA the maintenance of crew health during long-duration

30 missions while having a reduced impact on resources withstand the inhospitable climates of space, resist necessary for long-distance travel. pestilence, and need less volume to grow. ADVASC The Advanced AstrocultureTM (ADVASC) investigation, was performed over several International Space led by Weijia Zhou, Ph.D., of the Wisconsin Center Station (ISS) expeditions, growing two generations for Space Automation and Robotics, University of (rapidly growing, flowering of Wisconsin-Madison, explored the benefits of plant in the mustard family that has been grown on using microgravity to create custom crops that can many space missions), and soybean plants, from seed to seed in space using the ADVASC payload, an autonomously operated plant growth unit. The ability to grow plants from seeds through several generations has proven to be challenging in space and is critical in A new technology for an developing hardware and operational concepts to take ethylene scrubber is used for human explorers farther beyond low-Earth orbit. While serving as a unique plant-growth chamber, the food preservation in major ADVASC hardware design has also contributed to supermarkets and in trucks national security, cancer-fighting pharmaceuticals and that carry groceries to remote educational tools for students. ADVASC’s novel air scrubber was designed to remove ethylene from the regions of the world. chamber atmosphere, thus allowing longevity of the produce. Ethylene is a naturally occurring, odorless, colorless gas given off by plants that hastens the

Astronaut with the ADVASC soybean plant growth experiment during . Image credit: NASA

31 ripening of fruits and the aging of flowers, encouraging where refrigerated trucks carry groceries from rural decay. Comprised of carbon and hydrogen in closed farmland to towns miles away, the AiroCide unit growing environments, like on a spacecraft or in a preserves freshness and prevents food spoilage in terrestrial greenhouse, ethylene builds up quickly and harsh environments. plants mature too fast. Removing ethylene, therefore, In the health care arena, AiroCide units have been is important to preserving crops not just in space, incorporated into doctors’ clinics, operating rooms, but also on Earth, where grocers and florists have an neonatal wards, and in waiting areas, an often over- interest in reducing the gas that ultimately shortens the looked location rife with germs and bacteria like respi- shelf life of their products. ratory influenza or mycobacterium tuberculosis and The ethylene-reduction device, also called the ethylene frequented by people with compromised immune sys- “scrubber,” draws air through tubes coated in thin tems. Operating rooms with AiroCide units mounted in layers of titanium dioxide. The insides of the tubes are the ceiling become safer for all inhabitants, as harm- exposed to ultraviolet light, which creates a simple, ful bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus chemical reaction, converting the ethylene into trace aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and amounts of water and , both of which the fungi Penicillium and Aspergillus are removed from are actually good for plants. the air. In addition to eliminating virtually all known KES Science & Technology Inc., a Kennesaw, Georgia- airborne germs and diseases, the technology reduces based company specializing in sustaining perishable the burden on high-efficiency particulate air filters and foods, licensed the ethylene-scrubbing technology laminar flow environments. These same air-cleaning from the University of Wisconsin. KES partnered with properties have also been applied to neonatal wards. Akida Holdings, of Jacksonville, Florida, which now The AiroCide units have been adapted for use in markets the NASA-developed technology as AiroCide. everyday living environments. In hotels, for example, According to the company, it is the only air purifier that the units eliminate mold, mildew, germs and unwanted completely destroys airborne bacteria, mold, fungi, odors. These same features are also useful in offices, mycotoxins, viruses, volatile organic compounds (like where illnesses caused by airborne organisms can ethylene), and odors. What’s more, the device has no lower productivity. In homes, the AiroCide units help filters that need changing and produces no harmful eliminate the growth of mold and fungi as well as byproducts, such as the ozone created by some eliminate allergens like pet dander and dust mites. filtration systems. Food preservation customers include supermarkets Experiments with higher plants on the like Whole Foods; produce distribution facilities like those operated by Del Monte; food processing plants; Russian Segment of the International wineries; distilleries; restaurants; and large floral shops. Space Station Reeves Floral, an AiroCide user, reported 92-percent Some of the most important tasks in space biology reductions in airborne mold and a 58-percent drop include the creation of reliable and effectively in airborne bacteria levels in just the first 24 hours it functioning life support systems, and providing had the units operating in its floral storage warehouse. sustaining food sources for crew members. For long- The AiroCide units can be used in walk-in coolers to term interplanetary spaceflights and planetary bases, preserve freshness of produce during storage and the human life support system and food production transport, to increase safety in food preparation areas, to kill bacterial contaminants in flowers (botrytis), and to protect against spoilage and contaminants. AiroCide technology is now incorporated into a line of refrigerators, high-end consumer models that preserve freshness and reduce food waste. The refrigerator Space station studies improved recycles the air every 20 minutes, reducing odors, predictions of how artificial viruses, and bacteria, as well as eliminating the presence of veggie-wilting ethylene. soils will behave when irrigated AiroCide units have been deployed to India and both in space and on Earth in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the experimental forests. countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In these areas,

32 has to be based on regenerating the living environment with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) from life support products through physical/chemical primers with 10 markers and analyzing chromosomal and biological processes. Greenhouses will most likely aberrations, it was demonstrated that plants having be designed for the cultivation of vegetables, primarily undergone four complete development cycles in greens and herbs. However, in order to implement spaceflight did not manifest genetic polymorphism. these plans, plants must grow, develop, and reproduce That makes it possible to assert that there is no impact in spaceflight with cultivation productivity similar to of spaceflight factors on the genetic apparatus of Earth. To address this need, a series of 17 Rasteniya plants in the first to the fourth “space” generations. experiments were conducted from 2002-2011 using To prepare a chain of higher plants for future life the Lada greenhouse on the Russian segment of the support systems of space crews, experiments were International Space Station. carried out to cultivate the leafy vegetable plant mizuna Multigenerational studies were carried out to culture (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica). Results showed genetically tagged dwarf pea plants in the Lada space that the significant increase in the parameter of total greenhouse. For the first time in space research, four contamination of International Space Station (ISS) air consecutive generations of genetically tagged pea line did not result in a decrease in productivity of the leafy seeds were obtained in spaceflight. The growth and vegetable plant; however, the plants responded with a development characteristics of various lines of pea change in gene expression. plants did not change in a significant way compared A space experiment to grow super dwarf wheat to ground control samples. Using molecular methods during a complete vegetation cycle showed that the

Cosmonaut Valery G. Korzun, Expedition Five mission commander, studies mizuna lettuce as part of the Rastenyia-2 investigation. Image credit: NASA

33 rate of plant development over 90 days did not differ or other porous material. In microgravity, liquid moves from data from ground control experiments. When through capillary action, where the liquid is attracted the space-produced seeds were planted on the to the adjacent surface of a solid material. The surface ground, plants that grew were no different from the tension of the liquid pulls additional liquid along as control sample. each new surface is wetted. If the plant is over-watered The work done has great applied value because in and all of the surface area and open spaces within the the process of creating and operating the space growth medium are filled with liquid, then gas (air) can’t greenhouse, cutting-edge equipment and software move, and the plant’s roots are deprived of air and were developed, making it possible to grow plants . When properly wetted, as water is used by automatically. This dual-purpose technology can the roots, surface tension pulls additional liquid along also improve plant growth on Earth. The psycho- without filling the pore spaces, and therefore without physiological aspect of the interaction between preventing oxygen from diffusing through the open humans and plants in a habitable pressurized volume spaces to the roots. Studies in the Lada greenhouse was studied, and data were obtained on the safety have addressed the importance of root zone media of cultivating plant biomass on a space station for in these extreme artificial conditions. Scientists have human consumption. These data are of great interest studied a variety of root zone substrates—growth for design work to create productive greenhouses that media, material particle sizes, and packing structure— are part of promising life support systems of any living and learned which combinations work best. complexes that are cut off from the Earth’s biosphere. Knowledge of root zone substrates in space has Scientists have also studied the interaction of plants allowed scientists to improve their predictions of how with the soil. The processes by which plant roots artificial soils will behave when they’re irrigated—in receive water, gases and nutrients are different in space and on Earth—and to design specific plant space than they are on Earth. On Earth, gravity and growth media and artificial soils for greenhouses and surface tension combine to move water through soil, other large scale plant production facilities on Earth. allowing air to move through the pore spaces in the Models, describing the behavior of water and oxygen soil to the plant’s roots. In space, soil is replaced with learned from these space experiments, have been an artificial growth medium, made up of small grains published in scientific journals, allowing commercial users to access the information without divulging their propriety growth media mixtures. Sensor technology developed to monitor the Lada root zone is being applied to monitor soil properties in a state-of-the-art measurement facility at an experimental forest. Editor’s note: Colleagues from many Russian and non-Russian organizations participated in carrying out work according to the Rasteniya program in the Lada greenhouse on the ISS RS. The contributions of G. E. Bingham (Utah State University, Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, USA), S. A. Gostimsky (M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University), and M. Sugimoto (Okayama University, Institute of Bioresources, Okayama, Japan) should be especially noted.

Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, Flight Engineer, holds Mizun lettuce plants from the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (“Plants-2”) experiment in the Service Module during . Image credit: NASA

34 Heart Health and Biorhythms Studying spaceflight effects on the cardiovascular system has led to the creation of unique instruments that can be used on Earth for the detection of the earliest deviations in health status. These tech- nologies are now used to examine motor vehicle drivers and civil aviation pilots to evaluate risks and prevent accidents. Twenty-four-hour ECGs of astronauts were also analyzed to understand the space environment’s effect on biological rhythm and cardiac autonomic nervous activity leading to recom- mendations for maintaining a well-balanced biological rhythm on Earth. One of these recommenda- tions is maintenance of a regular sleep schedule. In studying the sleep patterns of cosmonauts using a miniature device that fits in their pocket, information is recorded and sent to Earth for analysis of sleep quality. An Earth model of this device is placed under the pillow or mattress to record movements related to heart and .

Space cardiology for the benefit of Ecosan-2007 is a multi-purpose instrument for early health care detection of the earliest deviations in health status. It is based on the principle of prenosological diagnosis, The cardiovascular system plays an exceptionally which arose in space medicine, referring to the study important role in cosmonauts’ physical adaptation to of changes in the body that precede their develop- long-term weightlessness. Since 2002, the scientific ment. This device is now used to examine drivers of experiment “Puls” and from 2007 through 2012, the motor vehicles, civil aviation pilots, and test subjects in experiment “Pneumocard” were performed regularly experiments on Earth involving various stress factors. on the International Space Station to study spaceflight effects on the cardiovascular system. These studies A study that used the Ecosan-2007 to detect early have provided a tremendous amount of informa- health issues among 105 bus drivers showed tion about space cardiology that has resulted in new that more than 30 percent of the drivers were in technologies successfully used to evaluate the body’s prenosological and premorbid states, which sharply functional reserves, to determine the degree of stress increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents. on regulatory systems and to assess the risk of devel- opment of disease. These new technologies served as the basis both for further development of cardiological systems on the International Space Station and for the creation of unique sets of instruments that can be used in health care practice, including the Eco- san-2007 hardware-software complex.

Instruments used on Earth for the early detection of deviations in health status are now used to examine motor vehicle drivers and civil Andre Borisenko performs the Pneumocard experiment aboard the International Space Station. aviation pilots. Image credit: Roscosmos

35 Biological rhythms in space and on Earth Humans wake up in the morning and fall asleep at night. The biological clock generates this regular, daily rhythm. Similar to the clock in the brain, there is a peripheral clock in every single cell in our bodies. The clock in the brain is called the “master clock,” and the clock in cells is referred to as the “peripheral clock.” The “master clock” and “peripheral clocks” communicate with one another through the autonomic, especially the sympathetic, nervous system to accurately regulate the biological rhythm. It is not uncommon to perform docking and Research using the Ecosan-2007 complex. destination landings in the late night or early morning for maximizing efficiency during rocket launching Image credit: Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences or returning to Earth. In such cases, the astronauts experience an effect much like traveling through time zones during international travel. Furthermore, we also have broad biological spectra (i.e., 90-min, 8-hour During examinations of civil aviation pilots the use of and 7-day, etc.) and have developed “chronomics” to Ecosan-2007 showed that long-term, work-related analyze them. Chronomics is the term that defines a chronic stress increases the risk development of new scientific field such as genomics and proteomics pathologies, which should be considered during the and can reveal hidden signals in the original time expert evaluation of fitness for flight, especially for people at the age more than 50. The Ecosan-2007 complex was also used in a 520- day experiment on Earth simulating a flight to Mars. During the experiment, monthly examinations of the ISS research has led to “Martian” crew located in a pressurized mockup of an interplanetary spacecraft and at the same time of recommendations for volunteer test subjects in control groups in 12 different maintaining a well-balanced, regions of the world were performed. Long-term telemedicine of medical-environmental research using biological rhythm on Earth. the Ecosan-2007 complex will be the prototype of a future system of individual prenosological monitoring, which will be based on space cardiology methods. The results of the studies on Earth performed using t he Ecosan-2007 complex served as a tool for Earth- based clinical use and as the basis for the further development of space cardiology technologies. Two new instruments have been developed for the space station and have both been in use since 2014. One of them, Cardiovektor, will be the advanced development of Pneumocard, which will make it possible to perform precise measurements of energy of heart muscle and to evaluate the activity of the right and left chambers of the heart. The second instrument, Cosmocard, will develop the methodology that was used in the Ecosan-2007 for electrocardiogram dispersion mapping. This will allow us to use the non-invasive study of the energy-metabolic characteristics of the Space sleep – Crew members usually sleep in cardiac muscle at various stages of spaceflight. In the sleeping bags. future, these instruments may also be successfully Image credit: JAXA/NASA used in health care practice.

36 they were able to maintain a well-regulated biological rhythm because of their regular, daily schedule aboard the ISS. We are exposed to environments that easily disturb our biological rhythm. Progress in communications, i.e., internet and smartphones, and transportation, i.e., airplanes, have made borders of countries and time zones irrelevant. It has been reported that disturbance in biological rhythm may cause diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, diabe- tes, osteoporosis, insomnia, depression, premature Sunrise from the International Space Station. aging, cancer, etc. Since the space station orbits the Earth once Three factors for maintaining a well-balanced biological every 90 minutes, it sees a sunrise or a sunset rhythm are morning light, melatonin secreted at every 45 minutes. night, and a balanced diet (particularly breakfast). Image credit: NASA Most important is the exposure to bright light during daytime and complete darkness during sleep at night. The astronauts’ daily regimen in maintaining a well- balanced biological rhythm during their long-term series data, which are not decipherable without spaceflight serves as a guideline for us living on Earth. use of chronomics. Chronomes are time structures In particular, we recommend the following six activities consisting of (1) multi-frequency rhythms, (2) elements for maintaining a well-balanced biological rhythm: 1) of chaos, (3) trends in chaotic and rhythmic endpoints, keep a regular daily schedule; 2) keep regular sleep and (4) noise (or as yet unresolved variables). and meal schedules; 3) drink coffee or green tea in the Chronomics can solve the complexity of organism’s morning; 4) maintain appropriate during interactions with their environment, near and far. The day and night; 5) engage in activities that support the International Space Station (ISS) circles around the peripheral clock such as exercise and getting dressed Earth once every 90 minutes, and astronauts aboard after waking; and 6) occasionally note the time. see sunrise and sunset every 45 minutes. The effects of high-intensity light deficiency on human health in the unique environment created by microgravity and Innovative space-based device promotes 45-minute day and night cycles is not well understood. restful sleep on Earth There may be an increased risk for biological rhythm There has been a growing interest in the study of deregulation and insomnia when living in a space night-time sleep in weightlessness since the first steps environment with microgravity and is deficient in high of space exploration. Indeed, normal, good-quality intensity light. We analyzed 24-hour ECG recordings of sleep is the basis for maintaining the necessary, high long-term-spaceflight astronauts with the aim to clarify psychological functioning and good physical condition the space environment’s effect on biological rhythm of cosmonauts. However, the clinical method used to and cardiac autonomic nervous activity. A small, light- study sleep (polysomnography) requires the use of a weight Holter monitor was used to record 24-hour large number of sensors, which disturbs normal sleep, ECGs, preflight (once), inflight (three times), and requires time, and is too complex for spaceflight. postflight (once). The 24-hour ECG data recorded in orbit was downlinked from Kibo Japanese Experiment Module to Tsukuba Space Center for time domain and frequency domain analysis. As a result, we found that although biological rhythms of the astronauts A miniature device can be were immediately disturbed after arrival on the ISS, placed under a pillow or a they recovered in five months after the beginning of long-term stay, and their biological rhythms became mattress to record movements well-regulated when compared to the preflight and related to the heart and to postflight recordings. We speculated that although the astronauts experienced a time-difference effect during breathing. their long-term spaceflight after spacecraft docking,

37 Scientific experiments using the Sonocard device are conducted on the space station on all Russian cosmonauts every two weeks. Over five years, a large amount of information on sleep in weightlessness has been gathered. For the first time, it is possible to discuss results that are not impacted by factors of workload and psycho-emotional stress that are always present during the day while carrying out science experiments under the normal flight program. A flight index sleep quality showed that the quality of sleep on average for the entire flight for all 22 participants in the experiment is 77.4 percent. The Sonocard contactless method of sleep study that was created for use on the space station has been successfully used on Earth. The Earth model used a Crew member sets up the Sonocard device sensor that was designed in the form of a plate to be before sleep in spaceflight. placed under the pillow or mattress to record a per- Image credit: Roscosmos son’s body movements related to heart and breathing rate. The signals recorded during the night are down- loaded to a computer and analyzed according to the methods already proven in space research. Thus, nowadays the data on the sleep quality of cosmonauts in long-term weightlessness have been The new hardware/software system called Cardioson-3 extremely limited. was tested in a series of experiments on Earth, including a long-term, 520-day experiment simulating In 2007, a new device, Sonocard, arrived on the a flight to Mars. Unique research experience of the Russian segment of the International Space Station cosmonauts’ functional state during sleep can have (ISS), making it possible to study sleep with a miniature further development in two directions: creation of new, device in the size of a deck of cards. The device is more effective systems of evaluating sleep in space for placed on the left in the top pocket of the cosmonaut’s the simultaneous medical control of all crew members T-shirt before sleep, and its sensor elicits micro- and development of similar devices for the control of fluctuations of the chest wall that are related to heart the quality of sleep in the interests of public health function. Upon wake-up, the information recorded care practice. during the night is sent to Earth for analysis. Sonocard provides a contactless recording of physi- ological signals, and its use does not require attaching electrodes or special sensors to the body. Instead, it acquires its data by recording all the vibrations that are elicited by the sensor/accelerometer. Pulse rate, breathing rate, movement activity, and heart rhythm variability are obtained. This method is successfully used in various fields of medicine and physiology to assess the state of the basic body functions. Space medicine was one of its first fields of application, and to date, a large amount of experience has been accu- mulated on its use to assess the functional condition of cosmonauts during spaceflight. When analyzing the data obtained during sleep, the changes in the activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic regulation chains in first hours after falling asleep and last hours Cardioson-3 system–Earth analog of the before waking up are determined. This makes it pos- Sonocard space device. sible to assess to what extent the body was able to Image credit: Institute of Biomedical Problems of rest during sleep and how much it replenished the the Russian Academy of Sciences functional reserves that were spent the day before.

38 Improving Balance and Movement A new technology developed to correct motor disturbances in weightlessness has been used to treat patients with cerebral palsy, stroke, spinal cord injuries, balance problems and motor decline due to aging. Assessment of eye movement reactions of cosmonauts preflight and postflight has led to faster and less expensive diagnoses and treatment of patients suffering from vertigo, dizziness and equilibrium disturbances. A patented computerized, non-pharmacological method of preventing and correcting unfavorable perception and sensorimotor reactions is used to train patients and astronauts to acquire the ability to suppress vertigo, dizziness and equilibrium disturbances. A system of hardware and software that collects information on body movements of astronauts on ISS has led to motor imagery protocols used in the research environment of a hospital in Rome in treatment of adult stroke patients and children with cerebral palsy. Other body movement research on ISS lead to the development of a suit for astronauts to compensate for the lack of daily loading from gravity. The clinical version of this suit is used for the comprehensive and drug-free treatment of cerebral palsy in children in Russia. Another clinical variation of this suit is used on patients who have suffered from stroke or brain trauma.

New technology simulates microgravity and improves balance on Earth Spaceflight opportunities, such as that of the Interna- tional Space Station (ISS), facilitated the development of Earth-based models of weightlessness and opened the door to studying the effects of the elimination of gravity. Over the 10 years since the ISS came into exis- tence, a large amount of data, information and facts have been compiled by the Russian Institute of Bio- medical Problems (IBMP) that have made it possible to switch from describing occurrences and phenomena to developing theories about the role and place of gravitational mechanisms in various bodily systems. One example of an evolution in the development of new knowledge is the discovery of the leading triggering role in maintaining vertical posture, of

A device to correct motor disturbances treats patients with cerebral palsy, stroke, spinal cord injuries, balance problems and motor decline The support unloading compensator. due to aging. Image credit: Institute of Biomedical Problems

39 brain injuries of various types, long-term motor unload- ing in aging, as well as some specific occupational conditions are also accompanied by the development of the aforementioned changes. Based on these data, IBMP scientists are working jointly with commercial companies to introduce motor disturbances corrective measures that were developed for weightlessness into the practice of treating and rehabilitating patients with profound motor lesions that are due to cerebral palsy, stroke, and brain and spinal cord injuries. Between 2005 and 2011, the Center for Aerospace Medicine developed a clinical version of the support unloading compensator, the Korvit, and obtained all The support unloading compensator used on approval documents and licenses. children. Today this technology is being successfully used in Image credit: Aerospace Medical Center and the most acute phase of stroke and facilitates more Technology significant regression of motor disturbances and earlier recovery of locomotion than traditional treatment methods. Of particular interest are the data on prevention of muscle spasticity development of limbs sensory organs called Vater-Paccini corpuscles, affected by paresis in cases when the Korvit device is located in the soles of the feet. These receptors used in the first hours after the onset of a stroke. were discovered back in the 19th century, but their role in gravireception was established very recently, The use of the support stimulation method in children thanks to ground-based simulation studies designed during the early recovery phase after surgical treatment to keep cosmonauts’ balance healthy in long- for fractures of the calf bones has facilitated the duration spaceflights. As a result of these studies, a reduction of edema by 17 to 20 percent, and an unique piece of technology was developed to help increase in the range of motion in the ankle joint by to correct the motor disturbances in individuals with 45 percent as early as the first 72 hours after surgery. central nervous system dysfunction, injuries, balance Children who do not receive such treatment experience problems, and motor decline due to aging. edema lasting six to eight days, which hinders motion in the injured limb and retards regenerative processes. Ground-based studies at IBMP identified a particular pattern of stabilization between body loading on the The use of the Korvit apparatus in the integrated reha- soles of the feet and subsequent motor stabiliza- bilitation of Cerebral Palsey patients has made it pos- tion processes associated with brain and spinal cord sible to maximize restoration of the balance of strength activities. The knowledge obtained revealed that the between extensor and flexor muscles, particularly in development of sensory-motor disturbances may an upright position, and to normalize the functions be prevented by means of “artificial” support stimuli of standing and walking, as well as the control of the applied to the bottoms of the feet. The research results coordination of various classes of movements. led to the development of new technology, the “sup- port unloading compensator,” a device that stimulates New ways to assess neurovestibular the support zones of the foot in natural human gait. system health in space also benefits The uniqueness of this device lies in its ability to those on Earth simulate the physical parameters that the support receptor or the foot receives during walking: the Among the many problems that have confronted the magnitude of pressure, temporal characteristics - medical sciences since humans first began exploring duration of impact, intervals between stimulation of space, a main one is adaptation to the conditions of the heel and metatarsal support zones, and intervals changed gravitational . Upon arrival in weightless- between stimulation of the right and left foot. ness (first three to seven days) and upon the return to Earth (from landing to three to five days later), virtually But the disturbances of muscle tone and coordination all crew members experience a number of negative of movement are not inherent exclusively to weightless- reactions and sensory disorders (orientational illusions, ness. Diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), vertigo, dizziness, problems focusing on and tracking

40 so the typical sensory links are broken and the brain cannot correctly interpret the incoming signals at Assessment of eye movement the beginning of flight, leading to the development reactions leads to faster and of space . As a result, this causes a decrease in the quality of crew member performance less expensive treatment of of work tasks, particularly those relating to visual patients suffering from vertigo, tracking accuracy. It is very likely that the unsuccessful docking of spacecraft, errors in structural assembly, dizziness and equilibrium and other instances of errors in manual control disturbances. that have occurred in orbit were often caused by disturbances in the function of tracking moving space objects because of changes in sensory functions. Analysis of data accumulated in a series of scientific visual objects), which are perceived as uncomfortable experiments before, during and after spaceflights on and can be accompanied by space motion sickness. the stations Salyut-6, Salyut-7, and Mir has led the In weightlessness, information received from the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Russia to develop vestibular apparatus within the inner ear does not align a method that uses computerized systems named with information received from other sensory systems, OculoStim-CM, Virtual and Sensomotor that can

Space experiment Virtual aboard the International Space Station (2013). Image credit: Roscosmos

41 effectiveness of the computerized method and hard- ware/software systems for use in diagnosing condi- tions of the vestibular and its related sensory systems (primarily visual) and in assessing the stability of static and dynamic spatial orientation on Earth. The systems have particularly been useful in experiments simulating weightlessness (immersion and bed rest); in examining highly qualified athletes (high-performance sports – gymnastics, figure and speed skating, target shooting, etc.); in diagnosing and treating patients suffering from dizziness and equilibrium disturbances; and, in evaluat- ing the effectiveness of medications (betahistine drugs Betaver and Betaserc). The OculoStim-CM system was successfully certified for use in clinical studies of 200 patients with vertigo, dizziness and equilibrium Application of the Okulostim-KM hardware/ disturbances, together with specialists from the ner- software system in clinical studies. vous disease department of the I. M. Sechenov First Image credit: Institute of Biomedical Problems Moscow State Medical University, the Academician Alexander Vein Clinic for the Treatment of Headaches and Vegetative Disorders, and the Federal Scientific Clinical Center of Otorhinolaryngology. Such applica- accurately assess the state of vestibular function, tion in clinical practice has made it possible to develop intersensory interactions, spatial orientation, and visual diagnostic criteria to determine the type of vestibular tracking (Russian Federation patent #2307575 dated disturbance, while offering a rapid, less expensive initial 10/10/2007, Kornilova L. N. et al.). differential diagnosis of dizziness and balance distur- At the basis of the method lies the assessment of eye bances compared to traditional clinical testing. movement reactions – visual tracking tests that are conducted both with visual targets (stimuli) on a clean (black) field on the screen and against a backdrop of Space research leads to non- additional visual interferences (diffuse spots/ellipses pharmacological treatment and moving horizontally or vertically) to “irritate” the prevention of vertigo, dizziness and peripheral vision. During the testing under differing equilibrium disturbances conditions, movements of the eyes (by electro- and The has shown that initial intro- video-oculography) and head (using angular rate duction to the weightlessness environment, such as sensors and accelerometers) are recorded. that of the International Space Station, can lead to The eye-movement system is controlled by a complex space motion sickness, making crew members feel hierarchy of innervation mechanisms located at dizzy and uncoordinated, and even impacting their different levels of the nervous system. The use of ability to track objects with their eyes. The result can a special test battery makes it possible to evaluate be a negative effect both on the health of crew mem- the disruptions occurring in various forms of eye bers and the quality of their work performance in flight. movements and, given the known mechanisms of how these movements are performed, to find the causes of these disturbances. This method has been actively used during the preflight and postflight clinical/physiological examination of Space research has led to a International Space Station (ISS) crew members in patented method used to train experiments called Virtual and Slezheniye (Pursuit) since 2013 and 2015, respectively and after crew members patients to acquire the ability to return to Earth during experiments Sensory Adaptation suppress vertigo, dizziness and and Gaze-Spin since 2001 and 2009, respectively. equilibrium disturbances. The procedure and hardware/software systems developed for spaceflight has also demonstrated

42 reflex using biofeedback, provided by the computer using this method to record eye and head movements. Training is conducted until the negative reactions (vertigo, dizziness and equilibrium disturbances) the patient suffers from disappear or are significantly reduced. The therapeutic effect of the training is assessed through a follow-up clinical/neurological examination, including the use of the computerized method of comprehensively assessing the condition of vestibular function and visual tracking function (Russian Federation patent #2307575 dated 10/10/07, Kornilova L. N. et al.). The indicator of training success is the suppression of experimentally induced negative reactions (full or partial) during the action of visual Visual method of training. (Laboratory of Vestibular and vestibular stimuli while fixing the gaze on an Physiology, 2013) imagined target. Image credit: Institute of Biomedical Problems The non-pharmacological computerized method for treating and preventing vertigo, dizziness and equilibrium disturbances was tested in clinical condi- tions jointly with specialists from the nervous disease department of the I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State At present, medications are typically used to eliminate Medical University, the Academician Alexander Vein the symptoms of space motion sickness, but they have Clinic for the Treatment of Headaches and Vegetative a number of contraindications and side effects that can Disorders, and the Federal Scientific Clinical Center of have a negative effect on various types of professional Otorhinolaryngology. activity. Therefore, there has been an obvious need to develop non-pharmacological methods of preventing The results of the clinical work demonstrated that and treating space motion sickness. patients acquired the capacity to fixate on and hold the gaze on both real and imagined targets, thus It is well known that people in extreme professions, suppressing (fully or partially) vertigo, dizziness, such as mountain climbers, athletes, acrobats, and nystagmus, and equilibrium disturbances. It was ballet dancers develop the capability to suppress shown that training effectiveness depended not only unfavorable vestibular reactions at the moment high on the disorder (type of vestibulopathy), but also on the accelerations act on them by developing a “fixation type of training selected. For patients with peripheral reflex.” However, attempts by many clinicians to vestibulopathies, the most effective was visual training; treat patients with vestibular problems using the for patients with central vestibulopathies, the vestibular same methods have been unsuccessful because of method was best; and for patients with psychogenic the vestibular challenges unique to this population. vestibulopathies, the combined method was preferred. Therefore, experts at the vestibular physiology laboratory at the Institute of Biomedical Problems Analysis of special questionnaires demonstrated that developed and patented a “Computerized method of all patients with psychogenic, 91 percent of patients preventing and correcting unfavorable perception and with peripheral, and 80 percent of patients with central sensorimotor reactions” (Russian Federation patent vestibulopathies subjectively noted “good suppression #2301622 dated 06/27/2007, Kornilova L. N. et al.). of vertigo in everyday conditions” and “improvement in The innovation of this method is in creating a unique general adaptation to real life conditions.” approach to the training of patients depending on their The effectiveness of the non-pharmacological disease (type of vestibulopathy) and in selecting the computerized method has made it a good candidate most effective means of training (visual, vestibular, or for use both during the preflight training of ISS crew combined) for them using biofeedback. members, and during spaceflight, to suppress the During patient training, depending on the nature of the symptoms of space motion sickness. The suppression vertigo, dizziness or equilibrium disorder and of his/ of negative reactions during flight using the fixation her disease (type of vestibulopathy), a series of training reflex has been successfully applied by crew members sessions is conducted to develop a unique fixation aboard the ISS since 2013.

43 Capturing the secrets of weightless movements for Earth applications Leaving Earth’s gravity initially impairs sensorimotor coordination in astronauts. Understanding how weight- less astronauts learn to move and interact with objects will improve mission safety. There are also benefits to people on Earth because certain populations with brain injury or disease experience many of the same coordi- nation challenges that astronauts experience. The ELaboratore Immagini TElevisive - Space 2 (ELITE- S2) developed by Kayser Italia for the Italian Space Agency (ASI), is a system of hardware and software that collects information on body movements of astro- nauts on the International Space Station (ISS) with great accuracy. Two studies have been carried out with ELITE S2, Movement in Orbital Vehicle Experiments (MOVE) and Imagery of object Motion Affected by Gravity In Null-gravity Experiments (IMAGINE). MOVE involves reaching and touching a stationary target placed beyond arm’s length while standing. This is a typical Limb and body movements recorded by ELITE-S2 movement that on Earth would perturb balance unless during one experiment on the International Space it was compensated by adjusting the posture of trunk Station. and leg muscles. While most healthy individuals on Image credit: ASI Earth can make sure movements, some patients, such as those with Parkinson’s Disease, cannot. Interestingly, early in flight, astronauts make postural adjustments that are unnecessary in space but are part of their course of a two-week flight of the space shuttle, the typical movement patterns on Earth. As the flight pro- motor responses of the astronauts were still sharply gresses, they learn to reduce unnecessary muscle acti- tuned to gravitational acceleration (http://science1. vation, although with significant inter-subject variability. .gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/18mar_ IMAGINE tested the ability to interact with a moving playingcatch/). In this study, astronauts asked to catch object. People have implicit knowledge of how the a ball that was projected “downward” from the ceiling world works since infancy, which allows them to react contracted their limb muscles too early, anticipating appropriately to the environment. In particular, gravity non-existent gravity effects. Later, in the IMAGINE effects on an object in motion are detected accurately study, the astronauts were instead asked to throw an so that we can catch a falling object instantly. However, imaginary ball toward the ceiling and to catch it upon patients with a brain lesion, such as that which is due return in their hand. The motion of the ball was purely to stroke, often lack this ability. A previous study using imaginary, but subjects performed an actual movement an antecedent of ELITE S2 demonstrated that over the of their arm as realistic as possible to throw the ball. In different blocks of trials, they were asked to imag- ine either that the ball motion was affected by Earth’s gravity (1 g) or that it was unaffected by gravity (0 g). Moreover, they were asked to vary the momentum of the throw from trial to trial. Surprisingly, it has been Motor imagery protocols used found that astronauts (including new flyers) are able in the research environment of to implicitly reproduce the 0 g conditions already on ground, prior to their mission, although their perfor- a hospital in Rome treat adult mance improved over the course of their time in space. stroke patients and children There is a striking dissociation, therefore, between the motor control system that drives automatic responses with cerebral palsy. tuned to Earth’s gravity, where the anticipation of gravity persists even after two weeks in space, and

44 the cognitive system that allows one to imagine 0-g in the presence of Earth’s gravity to stay healthy. In movements even on the ground and that appears space, traditional Earth-based methods to maintain endowed with a more general implicit knowledge of bones and muscles, such as physical exercise, are Newton’s laws. challenging due to constraints that include such The results from this study will not only provide more factors as crew time and vehicle size. To meet these information that can be used to keep astronauts challenges, specialists from the Institute of Biomedical healthy but could also lead to new rehabilitation Problems in Russia and their commercial partner, strategies to help people with brain injuries. In fact, Zvezda, developed the Penguin suit to provide loading mental imagery represents a powerful tool to rehabili- along the length of the body (axial loading) in a way tate sensorimotor coordination in disabled patients. that compensates for the lack of daily loading that the These motor imagery protocols are currently used in body usually experiences under the Earth’s gravity. The the research environment of the Neuromotor Reha- first testing of the suit in space was performed in 1971 bilitation Hospital of Santa Lucia Foundation in Rome. aboard the Salyut-1 station. Now the Penguin suit is In particular, imagery training is used in adult stroke actively used on the International Space Station as a patients as well as in children with cerebral palsy. The regular component of the Russian countermeasure training protocols involve the presentation of computer system of health maintenance. displays under supervision by medical or paramedical staff. Mental imagery is typically trained in combina- tion with conventional physical therapy over a period of several weeks. Improved motor performance can be attributed to two main factors: 1) mental practice helps keep the motor programs active when little or no movements are possible, and 2) it allows an increase in the duration of the training session without adding to the physical demands of the task. There are still open issues in this ongoing research, such as establishing the best time window in the course of the disease at which mental practice could prove effective as well as determining the long-term effects of imagery training.

Space technologies in the rehabilitation of movement disorders More than 50 years have passed since the first human spaceflight. As the duration of the flights has increased considerably, and amount of in-orbit activities has become greater, the need to maintain healthy bones and muscles in space has become more critical. Bones and muscles rely on performing daily activities

Treatment suits are used in Russia for the comprehensive and drug-free treatment of cerebral palsy in children and The Adeli treatment suit in use for pediatric in patients with stroke and rehabilitation. Image credit: Aerospace Medical Center and brain trauma. Technology, Russia

45 Since the early 1990s, Professor Inessa Kozlovskaya and her team at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Russia have implemented the use of this axial loading suit in clinical rehabilitation practice. The clinical version of the Penguin suit, the Adeli, was developed at the Institute of Pediatrics Russian Academy of Science under the leadership of Professor Ksenia Semyonova and is used for the comprehensive treatment of cerebral palsy in children. The treatment method is focused on restoring functional links of the body through a corrective flow of sensory information to the muscles, thereby improving the health of the tissues being loaded. This results in the correction of walking patterns and stabilization of balance in a relatively short period of time, including for those cerebral palsy children with deep motor disturbances. The Adeli suit was licensed in 1992 and has been continuously developed since. These methods have become one of the most popular and widely used in Russian medical clinics for rehabilitation of children with infantile cerebral paralysis. New methods were also developed for patients undergoing motor rehabilitation after stroke and brain trauma. Paralytic and paretic alterations of motor functions that are the most frequent after-effects of these diseases typically lead to significant limitations in motor and social activity of these patients, decrease their functional abilities and obstruct their rehabilita- tion. Given all of the complexities and importance of The Regent treatment suit in use for patient the rehabilitation of these patients, another clinical rehabilitation. modification of the Penguin suit was developed called Image credit: Aerospace Medical Center and the “Regent suit.” The complex effect of the Regent Technology, Russia suit on the body is based on an increase of the axial loading on skeletal structures and an increase in resis- tive loads on muscles during movement, which results in an increase of sensory information to the nervous Center of Neurology under leadership of professor system that is important for counteracting the develop- Ludmila Chernikova. These studies have shown that ment of pathological posture and for normalization of use of the suit results in a significant decrease in pare- vertical stance and walking control. The Regent suit is sis and spasticity in the lower leg muscle groups, as effectively used at the early stage of rehabilitation for well as an improvement of sensitivity in distal parts of patients having movement disorders after cerebrovas- lower limbs, and an overall improvement of locomotor cular accident and cranium-brain traumas. functions. The positive effect on high mental functions The clinical studies of the efficacy of the Regent suit was noticed at the same time, namely, an improve- in the rehabilitation of motor disorders in patients with ment of speech characteristics, an increase of active limited lesions of the central nervous system were per- vocabulary, and an improvement in the patient’s ability formed in acute and chronic studies with the participa- to recognize objects. tion of hundreds of stroke and brain trauma patients The use of the Regent suit is a complex, drug-free o in the hospital N 83 Federal Medical-Biological approach to the treatment of motor disorders. The Agency of Russia under leadership of professor Sergey method is closely related to the natural function of Shvarkov, and in the Center of Speech Pathology and walking, activates all of the muscles involved in posture Neurorehabilitation under leadership of professor Vick- and spatial orientation and is very safe. It allows for tor Shklovsky. The efficacy of the suit in patients with shorter treatment time, can be used both under post stroke hemiparesis was assessed at the Scientific

46 hospital and outpatient conditions and allows for a wide range of adjustments that allow individualized rehabilitation programs based on uniqueness of the neurological deficit and functional abilities of each patient. Today the Regent suit is applied in 43 medical institutions in Russia and abroad, and the results related to using both the Adeli and Regent suits are based on numerous observations and clinical studies. Editor’s note: Small studies based in the U.S. and Israel were not able to distinguish improvements from Adeli suit therapy with traditional physical therapy. Therefore, this therapy has not yet been adopted in North America.

47 High oblique view of an eruption plume from Kliuchevskoi Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. The International Space Station was located over a ground position more than 1,500 km to the southwest when the image was taken on November 16, 2013. Image credit: NASA

48 Earth Observation and Disaster Response

The International Space Station is a “global observation and diagnosis station.” It promotes international Earth observations aimed at understanding and resolving the environmental issues of our home planet. A wide variety of Earth observation payloads can be attached to the exposed facilities on the station’s exterior as well as in the Window Observational Research Facility located within the Destiny module. The presence of a human crew also provides a unique capability for real-time observation of the Earth, and “on the fly” data collection using hand-held digital cameras, and the astronauts may also provide input to ground personnel programming the station’s automated Earth observation systems. Several instruments are currently collecting data from the International Space Station; in addition, some instruments have completed their data collection missions, with other remote sensing systems in development or proposed by researchers from the partner countries, NASA, academic institutions, and corporations. The existing international partnerships, fundamental to the International Space Station, facilitate data sharing that can benefit people around the world and promote international collaboration on other Earth observation activities. The station contributes to humanity by collecting data on the global climate, environmental change, and natural hazards using its unique complement of crew-operated and automated Earth observation payloads.

49 50 Environmental Earth Observations The space station offers a unique vantage for observing the Earth’s ecosystems and atmosphere with hands-on and automated equipment. The size, power, and data transfer capabilities of the station enable a wide range of sophisticated sensor systems including optical multispectral and hyperspectral imaging systems for examining the Earth’s land surface and coastal , as well as active radar and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems useful for investigating sea surface and atmospheric aerosol transportation patterns. Astronauts using hand-held digital cameras provide an additional imaging capability for obtaining both detailed images of the Earth surface as well as sweeping panoramic views of its atmosphere. This flexibility is an advantage over sensors on unmanned spacecraft, especially when unexpected natural events such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

Earth remote sensing from the latitude at different times of day and under varying space station illumination conditions. Robotic, satellite-based, Earth-observing sensors are typically placed on polar- The installation of new facilities and sophisticated orbiting, -synchronous platforms in orbits designed internal and external remote-sensing systems have to pass over the same spot on the Earth’s surface at transformed the International Space Station into a approximately the same time of day. capable platform for Earth remote sensing. It also retains the unique distinction of being the only such Responsive Data Collection platform with a human crew, which provides unique opportunities and advantages for remote sensing, Another advantage unique to the space station is particularly in the arena of data collection for disaster the presence of crew that can react to unfolding response efforts. So what can the station offer in terms events in real time, rather than needing a new data of Earth remote sensing that free-flying, robotic satellite collection program uploaded from ground control. systems cannot?

The space station significantly improves our ability to monitor the Earth and respond to natural hazards and catastrophes.

Images With a Variety of Lighting Conditions Crew Earth Observations of forest fires near Unlike many of the traditional Earth observation Sydney, Australia, taken just after local sunset with platforms, the station orbits the Earth in an inclined a handheld camera on Oct. 23, 2013. Orange fires equatorial orbit that is not sun-synchronous. This and grey smoke threaten nearby towns. means that the station passes over locations on the Image credit: NASA Earth between 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south

51 This is particularly important for collecting imagery of ISS have responded to 130 IDC activations, with data unexpected natural events such as volcanic collected for 34 of those events by either astronauts or eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. The crew can ground-commanded sensors (or both). also determine whether viewing conditions—like cloud The following NASA Earth observation instruments cover or illumination—will allow useful data to be and facilities are now aboard and operational on the collected, as opposed to a robotic sensor that collects space station. International Partner sensor systems data automatically without regard to quality. and programs are described in other articles included This is well demonstrated by the International Space in this volume. Station (ISS) response to disaster events, in support of • Window Observational Research Facility (WORF; the International Charter, Space and Major Disasters http://worf.msfc.nasa.gov/) provides a highly (http://www.disasterscharter.org/home), also known stable, internal mounting platform to hold cameras as the International Disaster Charter (IDC). The ISS and sensors steady while offering power, com- became a participating platform—in other words, a mand, data and cooling connections. potential source of remotely sensed data—in April 2012, joining many other NASA satellite assets. As of • ISS-RapidSCAT (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/ May 2015, the NASA-managed sensor systems on iss-rapidscat/) monitors ocean surface wind speed and direction to provide essential measurements used in weather predictions, including hurricane monitoring. The sensor is mounted on the Colum- bus Module External Payload Facility and measures the echo strength of microwaves reflected off of the ocean surface. Several views of the same sea surface area provides radar return signals that can be used to estimate wind speed and direction. • The Cloud Aerosol Transport System (CATS; http:// cats.gsfc.nasa.gov/) is a LiDAR sensor that obtains measurements of atmospheric aerosols and clouds. Clouds and aerosols reflect a significant proportion of the sun’s energy back to space, but their com- plex interaction in Earth’s atmosphere is not yet fully understood. Data from CATS will allow scientists to better assess the role and impact of clouds and aerosols on Earth’s global energy budget and cli- mate. • The High-Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) camera (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV) includes four dif- ferent commercial, high-definition cameras on the Columbus External Facility. The investigation is as- sessing camera quality while taking Earth imagery and the hardware’s ability to survive and function in the extreme thermal and radioactive environment of low-Earth orbit. • International Space Station SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System Pathfinder (IS- ERV; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/ research/experiments/867.html) is a sensor system International Space Station SERVIR Environmental collecting visible-wavelength imagery at ground Research and Visualization System Pathfinder resolutions of approximately 3 meters per , (ISERV) image of flooding in Cambodia, taken Nov. which completed its mission in early 2015. 1, 2013. • Crew Earth Observations (CEO; http://eol.jsc.nasa. Image credit: NASA gov) includes Earth imagery taken by crew mem- bers using handheld cameras.

52 The combined capabilities of both human-operated data is being exploited to produce maps of coastal and autonomous sensor systems aboard the space ocean properties, and provides a new science dataset station are helping to significantly improve our ability for coastal regions worldwide. The HICO experimental to monitor the Earth and respond to natural hazards sensor offered 10 times the spectral and spatial and catastrophes. Integration of the space station resolution of other ocean color sensors. Earth observation systems represents a significant Why is this important? Coastal waters are an important and complementary addition to the international, link between local and global economic development satellite-based, Earth-observing “system of systems,” and environmental . Coastal zones providing knowledge and insight into our shared support many of the world’s major cities (and their global environment. industrial zones, ports, and recreational facilities); they also include critical ecosystems that support fisheries and protect shorelines. Similarly, large lakes and Coastal ocean sensing extended mission reservoirs provide many of the same benefits and are Scanning the globe from the vantage point of the the water supply for millions of people. International Space Station (ISS) is about more than The ONR sponsored the development and first three the fantastic view. While cruising in low-Earth orbit years of the operation of HICO as an Innovative Naval on the ISS, the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Prototype. The HICO prototype had two goals. The Ocean (HICO) gave researchers a valuable new way to first was to demonstrate ways to drastically reduce view the coastal zone. the cost and schedule of building a space payload. By innovative design and using commercial-off- the-shelf components where possible, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) engineers effectively built Coastal waters are an HICO in 18 months at a small fraction of the cost of important link between traditional space instruments. The second goal was to demonstrate the ability to produce valuable images of local and global economic coastal environmental properties using hyperspectral development and imagery from space. environmental sustainability, and HICO on the space station was the first space instrument designed to observe them.

HICO, originally a one-year demonstration program supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) was installed on the ISS on Sept. 23, 2009, and collected data until Sept. 14, 2014. HICO far exceeded its planned mission and provided new insights into coastal environments around the world. Using the HICO imaging spectrometer mounted outside the station on the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility of the Kibo Laboratory, researchers collected data about the Earth that will Hyperspectral Imager for Coastal Ocean being help them to better understand coastal environments installed on the Japanese Experiment Module and other regions around the world. - Exposed Facility of the Kibo Laboratory, HICO was the first spaceborne, hyperspectral imager Sept. 23, 2009. optimized for environmental characterization of the Image credit: NASA coastal ocean and large lakes. Archived HICO image

53 Hyperspectral Imager for Coastal Ocean image of a massive Microcystis bloom in western Lake Erie, Sept. 3, 2011, as confirmed by spectral analysis. Image credit: NASA NRL OSU

These goals were met and the mission extended by HICO was operated under ONR sponsorship for over NASA continuing to fund operation of the sensor. three years and in 2013, NASA assumed sponsor- HICO data was used by scientists at NRL, Oregon ship of operations in order to leverage HICO’s ability to State University and over 50 other institutions address their Earth-monitoring mission. This opened worldwide to study coastal environments. Access to up access of HICO data to the broad research com- the instrument by researchers in U.S. government munity. All the HICO data is now available on NASA’s agencies, commercial entities and other non-academic Ocean Color website (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/). institutions was also available through proposals to the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org). Studies ranged from Visual and instrumental scientific characterizing coral reefs of Australia, New Caledonia, observation of the ocean from space and Palau to assessing water quality in lakes and One feature of oceanographic research conducted reservoirs in North America and Europe to developing with the participation of cosmonauts on orbital algorithms for NASA and European-proposed, stations, including the historical Salyut, Mir, and the hyperspectral instruments. International Space Station (ISS), is the broad The results from HICO investigations provide benefits application of the method of scientific visual and to agencies with marine responsibilities, such as the instrumental observation of the world’s oceans from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration space. The basis of the method is the visual search, (NOAA) via information on bathymetry, bottom type, detection and identification of phenomena under water clarity, and other water optical properties. examination in the near-surface layer of the ocean Scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency and the atmosphere above it. This is the simplest, yet used HICO data (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_ one of the most informative, ways to obtain data in pages/station/research/news/epa_coastal.html) to the visible spectrum on the condition of the ocean’s develop water quality monitoring tools that will allow natural environment. The reliability and scientific value the public to check water conditions from their mobile of information on the ocean obtained in this way devices. The rich hyperspectral information available significantly increases because of the targeted use of from HICO enabled the use of spectral techniques special recording equipment (such as digital photo and to specifically identify features such as the massive digital video cameras) and of on-board instruments Microcystis bloom in Western Lake Erie (shown that expand the capabilities of the crew member’s above), which threatened the water supply for millions visual analysis capabilities during observations. Such of people in September 2011. combined observations are referred to as visual and instrumental. The methods of visual and instrumental

54 tropospheric cloud formations characteristic for the movement of air masses past obstacles in the Visual and instrumental atmosphere of island regions (Karman vortex streets, observations of the ocean Helmholtz gravitational shear waves, etc.). Experiments have also proven the capability to identify and record, from space have broad through imagery from space, optically active events practical applications in the atmosphere, such as terrigenous dust and sand flows (Fig. 13), fog, volcanic ash clouds over for resolving the issues the ocean, etc., and regions with signs of intensive pertaining to the research of thunderstorm activity. Applicable to the hydro-physical biological resources of the area of oceanic research, the VIO method ensures obtaining documented data on the nature of local world’s oceans. water circulation (Fig. 1), icebergs (Fig. 6), the structure of surface agitation fields (Figs. 7 and 8), broken ice (Fig. 5), and the color and transparency of water (Figs. 1, 9 and 10). The results of such data interpretation observation (VIO methods) are used to establish are used to describe the most significant elements informational databases in the visible electromagnetic of general ocean water circulation and to deal with wave spectrum not only in the field of remote sensing hydro-optic tasks. of the oceans but also in other areas of knowledge and To date, a significant amount of information obtained practical activity. from the visual and instrumental observations of The many years of Russian experience conducting the oceans from space, has been collected and oceanographic experiments by crews on the long- grouped according to various objects of environmental term, orbital stations, Salyut, Mir, and ISS, have made monitoring. As applicable to open ocean ecosystems, it possible to evaluate the actual informational potential the most broadly represented are the results of of VIO of the world’s oceans from space. Also, this has observations and color photographs of the ocean allowed for the development of a flight-tested method characterizing the diversity of forms and condition of solving specific issues of and of of coral reefs (Figs. 11 and 12), the morphology of developing equipment and procedures for the remote different sizes of phytoplankton fields and the hydro- sensing of the ocean. These procedures and methods dynamic specifics of the environments in which they are frequently reviewed while conducting oceano- live (Fig. 1). graphic experiments with cosmonauts’ participation, The most important aspect of the VIO method is the as is currently done on the ISS as part of some space capability to evaluate the environmental condition of experiments (e.g. “Diatomea,” “Seiner,” etc.). the ocean-atmosphere system in real time, to identify The main object of search and observation for a cos- anomalous processes and phenomena in the ocean monaut researcher while working on this category of environment, such as films (Fig. 14), oil and task using VIO is large-scale, color-contrast formations petroleum products spills (Fig. 16), contamination of (CCF) on ocean surfaces related to the mass growth of clean ocean waters with surface runoff (Fig. 15), and phytoplankton (Fig. 1). In the field of view of space sta- rinsing agents of ferromanganese nodules mined from tion crews observing the ocean surface along the flight the sea floor in mining areas of the oceans. path, a wide variety of cloud formations are constantly Currently, visual and instrumental observations of the present. In addition, the following are observed among ocean from space have broad practical applications cloud fields above the ocean: cloud indicators of tropi- for resolving the issues pertaining to the research cal cyclones in varying stages of development (Fig. of biological resources of the world’s oceans. The 2), lineaments (Fig. 3) identifying jet streams, cumulus increased attention to this area of research is explained clouds with powerful vertical development above the by the relevance of the problem, by the capability ocean surface under intensive atmospheric convection to conduct research using relatively inexpensive (Fig. 4), and other phenomena of interest for maritime commercial photography equipment, and by the meteorology serving the shipping industry, aviation, existence of an algorithm of searching and identifying and seafood industry. from space, highly productive waters of the world’s Of particular importance among hydro-meteorological oceans that have been tested by crews on Russian phenomena observable by the VIO method are space stations and patented.

55 1. Phytoplankton field 2. Cloud canopy of a 3. Cloudless 4. Clouds of intensive typhoon lineaments vertical development

5. Condition of ice 6. Antarctic iceberg 7. Development of 8. Area of calm in the cover internal waves shadow of an island

9. Sea floor relief 10. Sea floor of 11. Sea floor of an 12. Above-water part Bermuda atoll of an atoll

13. Dust/sand streams 14. Surfactant film 15. River runoff 16. Oil spill contamination contamination

Image credit: Roscosmos/Energia/FGUP TsNIIMash

56 Disaster Response Remotely sensed data acquired by orbital sensor systems has emerged as a vital tool to identify the extent of damage resulting from a natural disaster, as well as providing near-real time mapping support to response efforts on the ground and humanitarian aid efforts. The International Space Station (ISS) is a unique terrestrial remote-sensing platform for acquiring disaster-response imagery. Unlike automated remote-sensing platforms it has a human crew; is equipped with both internal and externally mounted still and video imaging systems; and has an inclined, low-Earth orbit that provides variable views and lighting (day and night) over 95 percent of the inhabited surface of the Earth. As such, it provides a useful complement to autonomous sensor systems in higher-altitude polar orbits for collecting imagery in support of disaster response.

Space station camera captures Earthly disaster scenes Of all the hundreds of spacecraft and satellites in low- Earth orbit, few can match the International Space Station (ISS) for its view of the big, blue marble below it. The ISS, circling the Earth once every 90 minutes, offers a unique observing platform with over 90 percent of the Earth’s populated area visible from its orbit. Scientists put that spectacular view to good use by using a camera on the ISS to demonstrate disaster observation and responses to humanitarian requests.

The ISERV camera helped the space station support countries around the world, making the ISS even more of an international asset by capitalizing on the unique

view of Earth it provides. The Royal Gorge wildfire ignited on June 11, 2013, northwest of Cañon City and along the Arkansas River in central Colorado. The fire raged over the sagebrush and pine-covered topography, charring 3,218 acres in five days until firefighters The system is a prototype called the ISS SERVIR Envi- finally corralled it. This ISS SERVIR Environmental ronmental Research and Visualization System (ISERV) Research and Visualization System (ISERV) image Pathfinder. ISERV was developed by NASA to support shows the Arkansas River passing through the a joint NASA/US Agency for International Development burn scar. (USAID) project known as SERVIR (http://www.nasa. Image credit: NASA gov/mission_pages/servir/index.html) and potentially

57 June floods devastated much of southern Alberta, Canada, and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 citizens in Calgary and nearby towns. Three people died in the swirling, murky waters, which also caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage on June 22 and the days following. Before and after images of flooding in downtown Calgary are shown here. The GeoEye/ (a commercial satellite sensor) image on the left, taken on Sept. 13, 2008, shows normal flow of the Bow and Elbow Rivers. The ISERV image, captured June 22, 2013, is on the right and shows floodwaters from the two rivers inundating downtown Calgary. Canadian officials used the images to help in their disaster assessments and to improve their flood-mapping algorithms. Image credits: left, Digital Globe; right, NASA

the broader NASA Applied Sciences community. The commands to photograph specific areas during the word “servir” is Spanish for “to serve.” The SERVIR space station’s next pass over them. ISERV’s targets project provides satellite data and tools to environmen- were threatened by or already experiencing floods, tal decision makers in developing countries and oper- landslides, forest fires, or other disasters. The images ates via regional “hubs” in Nairobi, Kenya; Kathmandu, were used to monitor the situation, evaluate damage Nepal; and Panama City, Panama. These SERVIR hubs extent and direct evacuation and disaster relief efforts. can task the ISERV system to image scenes of Earth’s ISERV was well adapted to higher-resolution “survey” surface in their countries to address environmental applications like disaster monitoring and assessment. issues and disasters. SERVIR’s coordination office ISERV captured first light on Feb. 16, 2013, and the at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, myriad images it has captured since then of locales Alabama, controls ISERV operations. around the world include critical disaster photos. As Installed in January 2013 for a two-year mission, the two examples, ISERV images revealed the burn scar camera observes our planet’s surface through the left by the June 11-16, 2013, Royal Gorge wildfire in Destiny module’s Earth-facing window, acting on

58 Colorado, and the devastation caused by floodwaters The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Calgary on June 22-24, 2013. offers data taken with two camera systems, the Super While the ISERV camera completed its primary Sensitive HDTV Camera System (SS-HDTV) and the mission goals in December 2014, the system remains Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) High-Definition aboard the International Space Station and could be Television Camera System on JEM External Facility re-deployed if needed to capture imagery of natural (HDTV-EF). JEM-EF is an unpressurized, multipurpose disasters. The ISERV camera can help the space pallet structure attached to the JEM. This external station lend support to countries around the world, platform is used for research in diverse areas such making the ISS even more of an international asset by as communications, space science, engineering, capitalizing on the unique view of Earth it provides. technology demonstration, materials processing, and Earth observation. Editor’s note: SS-HDTV was developed to take night images of the Georeferenced images are available for public use at: Earth, including such phenomena as aurora, airglow ftp://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/pub/iserv/data/L0/. and meteor showers. It is operated in the ISS pressur- ized module cabin including the JEM and the Cupola The SERVIR team provides an online map/tool (http:// Observational Module. The beautiful night images are www.servirglobal.net/mapresources/iserv/) that allows utilized for the check of the electric power restoration users to locate and download ISERV images. and the revival of cities after a natural disaster and the return of normal life to those people affected. Clear high-definition images aid disaster Images of the Earth surface, the ocean, clouds, etc., response are taken from ISS for disaster response, education and publicity purposes. Data collected from various International Space Station (ISS) sensor systems have contributed to Earth observation and disaster response through international collaboration frameworks, such as the International Charter, Space and Major Disasters Data collected from various (http://www.disasterscharter.org/home) and Sentinel ISS sensor systems have Asia (http://www.jaxa.jp/article/special/sentinel_asia/ index_e.html). The Japanese Experiment Module contributed to Earth (JEM), or Kibo, provides opportunities to obtain very observation and disaster clear high-definition (HD) images both from internal handheld and externally mounted cameras. These response through international clear images are beneficial for disaster support. collaboration frameworks.

Night view of Italy. Night view, aurora and airglow. Image credit: JAXA/NASA Image credit: JAXA/NASA

59 Wildfire, Queensland, Australia. Hurricane Sandy. Image credit: JAXA/NASA Image credit: JAXA/NASA

Sentinel Asia aims to promote international cooperation information and shares it over the internet. The aim to monitor natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region. is to mitigate and prevent damage caused by natural According to statistics by the Asian Disaster Reduction disasters such as typhoons, floods, earthquakes, Center’s Natural Disasters Data Book 2013, Asia tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and wildfires. Sentinel accounts for 44.6 percent of occurrences; 84.6 Asia now counts 15 international organizations and percent of people killed; 87.1 percent of affected 83 participating organizations from 25 countries as people; and 49.0 percent of economic damage. Under members, and utilization of its systems is steadily these circumstances, the Asia-Pacific Regional Space expanding. JAXA, as the only Asian partner of the ISS, Agency Forum (APRSAF) proposed Sentinel Asia will continue to support disaster response and hopes in 2005 to showcase the value and impact of Earth to contribute to Asia and the whole world with Kibo observation technologies. and its high-definition cameras. Sentinel Asia uses Earth observation satellites and other space technologies to collect disaster-related

60 61 Water filtration plant set up in Balakot, Pakistan, following the earthquake disaster in 2005. The unit is based on space station technology and processes water using gravity fed from a mountain stream. Image credit: Water Security™ Corporation

62 Innovative Technology

In space, physical processes can be better understood with the control of external influences such as gravity. Technical innovations designed for space systems are tested on the International Space Station (ISS) before use in other spacecraft systems. While investigating how new technologies operate in space, unexpected discoveries are possible. Simplified physical systems can also be directly used to improve models of physical processes leading to new industrial techniques and materials. The ISS provides the unique capability to perform long-duration experiments in the absence of gravity and in interaction with other spacecraft systems not available in any other laboratory. Additional insight comes from the presence of the ISS crew observing and interacting with these experiments and participating in the discovery process. The ISS research portfolio includes many engineering and technology investigations designed to take advantage of these opportunities. Experiments investigating thermal processes, nanostructures, fluids and other physical characteristics are taking place to develop these technologies and provide new innovations in those fields. Additionally, advanced engineering activities operating in the space station infrastructure are proving next-generation space systems to increase capabilities and decrease risks to future missions. Emerging materials, technology and engineering research activities on the ISS are developing into benefits for economic development and quality of life.

63 64 Fluids and Clean Water Whether in the vacuum of space or the relative comfort of the Earth’s surface, access to clean water is essential for living organisms. The challenges of moving and processing fluids such as water using compact, reliable systems in the microgravity environment of space have led to advances in the way we purify water sources on the ground. Testing methods developed to ensure water quality on the International Space Station (ISS) have led to advancements in water monitoring here on Earth. Investigations into the basic dynamics of how fluids move in space have also led to advances in medical diagnostic devices.

Advanced ISS technology supports water livestock, which they sifted through fabric to remove purification efforts worldwide dirt and debris. Whether in the confines of the International Todd Harrison was president of CFK’s board of Space Station or a tiny hut village in sub-Saharan directors at the time and strongly empathized with the Africa, drinkable water is vital for human survival. people of Kendala. He set out on a mission to revive Unfortunately, many people around the world lack the ailing community by improving the deplorable access to clean water. Using technology developed conditions. The solution came in the form of a familial for the space station, at-risk areas can gain access connection that put Harrison in touch with NASA to advanced water filtration and purification systems, engineers who developed technology to provide clean making a life-saving difference in these communities. water aboard the space station. Harrison’s sister, Robyn Gatens, was the engineering manager for the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) project at NASA’s Marshall Using technology developed for the space station, at-risk areas can gain access to advanced water filtration and purification systems, making a life-saving difference in these communities.

In 2006, the first of many ground-based water filtration systems using NASA technology was installed in northern Iraq. The system was developed by Water Security Corporation in Reno, Nevada, and installed by the nonprofit organization Concern for Kids (CFK). CFK representatives learned about a deep-water well failure in the tiny Kurdish village of Kendala, Iraq, which left its residents without access to drinkable water. The population quickly dwindled from 1,000 residents Girl at hydration station. to a mere 150. Those remaining were forced to use a Image credit: Sinergia Systemas nearby creek that contained water contaminated by

65 Space Flight Center. She and her team of engineers were responsible for developing the cutting-edge water purification system that recycles air and water aboard the station. By efficiently recycling wastewater aboard the space station, there is a reduced need to provide the resource via resupply—which would not be an option for long-duration space travel. Without this capability, the station’s current logistics resupply capacity would not be able to support the standard population of six crew members. Two principal components make up the International Space Station Regenerative ECLSS: The Water Recov- ery System (WRS) and the Oxygen Generation System (OGS). The WRS conducts the water purification and filtration process in the ECLSS. Water Security Corpo- ration (WSC) took an interest in this part of the ECLSS project, and licensed the technology in order to adapt it to an Earth-based water treatment system. Harrison discovered an interesting relationship between WSC’s water filtration system and NASA because of his familiarity with his sister’s work. NASA’s previous research and application provided the Microbial Check Valve (MCV), an integral component of the purification and filtration process. The MCV is an iodinated-resin that provides a simple way to control microbial growth in water without the use of power. By dispensing iodine into the water, it performs an important secondary nutritional function for the populace. When added to the diet, it promotes proper brain function and maintains bodily hormone Chiapas installed system at school. levels, which regulate cell development and growth. Children born in iodine-deficient areas are at risk of Image credit: Sinergia Systemas neurological disorders and mental retardation. With the help of U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psycho- logical Operations Command (Airborne) personnel, a around the world. Applications have included home 2,000-liter water tank and fresh water were delivered water purifiers in India, village processing systems in to the Kurdish village in Iraq. Workers ensured that the remote areas of Mexico, Central and South America, water was clean and iodinated to prevent bacteria and water bottle filling stations in Pakistan, and even a virus contamination. When CFK encountered techni- survival bag designed as a first response device for cal issues, Gatens and her team were able to help by natural disasters, refugee camps, civil emergencies phone to implement a workaround that enabled the and remote locations. successful processing of Kendala’s water supply.

Joint collaborations between aid organizations and Exploring the wonders of fluid motion: NASA technology show just how effectively space research can adapt to contribute answers to global Improving life on Earth through problems. Since this initial effort, the commercialization understanding the nature of Marangoni of this station-related technology has provided aid and convection disaster relief for communities worldwide. WSC, in Fluid is everywhere in our lives. The Earth, known collaboration with other organizations, has deployed as “the water planet,” is able to support life in part systems using NASA water-processing technology because of the presence of water. From the lava that

66 formed under microgravity conditions. To learn thermal-fluid dynamics in microgravity, the convection ISS gives us the unique in a liquid bridge of silicone oil is generated by heating opportunity to study a one disc higher than the other, allowing scientists to observe flow patterns that can tell them about how fundamental principle heat is transferred in microgravity. of motion, Marangoni Surface tension is the characteristic of a liquid in which convection, which is revealed it forms a layer at its surface so that this surface covers as small an area as possible. For example, in the image in microgravity but masked below, one can see the coin floating on the surface of by gravity on Earth. the water. Surface tension is the force that keeps the heavier coin from sinking. In general, surface tension becomes stronger with decreasing temperature. A cools to form islands, the blood that flows in our veins, and the molten metals that we turn into structures and vehicles, human beings have been using fluids throughout history. Understanding the fundamental principles of fluid motion is important for all walks of life, from the microfluidic systems that deliver drugs to keep us healthy to the rocket fuel tanks that propel us into the vastness of space. One of these fundamental principles of motion, Marangoni convection, is revealed in microgravity but masked by the stronger force of gravity on Earth. The International Space Station gives us the unique opportunity to study this principle in detail. Marangoni convection is the flow driven by the presence of a surface tension gradient that can be The Earth, known as “the water planet.” produced by a temperature difference at a liquid/ Image credit: JAXA/Japan Broadcasting gas interface. It can best be studied in a liquid bridge Corporation

A liquid bridge forms in the International Space Station Kibo Module. (Diameter: 30 mm, Length: A coin floats on the surface of the water because of 62.5 mm) surface tension. Image credit: JAXA/Yokohama National Image credit: JAXA University/Tokyo University of Science

67 is used to produce extremely high purity crystals by the semiconductor and rare metals industries. Flow disturbance is a major cause for the deterioration of the quality of the crystal grown by this method. Understanding the rheological (deformation and flow of matter) dynamics in liquid bridges is of fundamental interest for many industrial and biological processes, as well as medical diagnostic devices. For instance, micro-Total Analysis Systems (μ-TAS) are expected to enable on-site medical diagnosis techniques by sampling minute amounts of blood and DNA. In this technique, fluid manipulation is dominated by the interface capillarity. With a stronger understanding of Pictured are the tears or legs of wine. Droplets the fundamentals of Marangoni phenomena, practical form the vicinity of the fluid’s surface and drip use of thermocapillarity in microfluidics such as the into the wine continuously. μ-TAS can be achieved. Image credit: Professor Hiroshi Kawamura, Tokyo University of Science Space station-inspired mWater app identifies healthy water sources What if that clear, sparkling stream coming from the trait of Marangoni convection is a surface tension- ground or a faucet were teeming with contaminants? driven fluid flow in which the driving force is localized How would you know? Whether you live in some only at the surface. When a temperature difference remote region of Africa, a high rise in New York City exists along a surface, the surface is pulled toward or aboard an orbiting laboratory in space, you need a low-temperature region. The surface tension reliable drinking water to survive. You now can check difference is also produced under fluid concentration the cleanliness of your water using the mWater app on differences at the meniscus (the fluid’s surface), such your mobile phone. as what you may see in a wine glass as tears or legs of wine. This handy tool, based in part on International Space Station technology, provides a global resource Such a phenomenon is often observed in everyday life. available for free download as an app or usable For example, oil in a pan heated from the center moves via the Web browser version of the app on most to the side. Oil floating on water immediately moves smartphones. Governments, health workers and the when a surfactant (e.g., detergent) drops onto a part of public all can make use of mWater to record and share the oil because of the imbalance in the surface tension. water test results. During the first year of the beta The detergent causes the center to have a lower release of mWater, more than 1,000 users downloaded surface tension while the outside has a higher surface it and mapped several thousand water sources. tension; therefore, the center and the oil were pulled out in all directions to equalize the surface tension. John Feighery, mWater co-founder and former lead These phenomena result from the Marangoni effect. engineer for air and water monitoring with NASA, was The Marangoni experiment has obtained the flow transition process from laminar to turbulent (chaotic) flows. The onset conditions of oscillatory flow were clarified by studying long liquid bridges, which are only available under the microgravity environment Check the cleanliness of your present on the space station. This helps to make more accurate predictions of instability onsets that local water bodies using the can give rise to different pattern-forming instabilities. mWater app first developed In a higher temperature difference regime, transitions to the chaotic and turbulent flows are detected and from technology proven on the characterized. This knowledge of the floating zone space station. (liquid bridge), may help in refining a technique that

68 Combining his aerospace experience and philanthropic passions, Feighery went to work with co-founders Annie Feighery and Clayton Grassick on what would become mWater. Following the 2011 Water Hackthons, the mWater app was developed and later improved upon through field testing sponsored by U.N. Habitat. The app helps to simplify recording of water quality results, mapping water sources and finding safe water nearby. The tests and app are both designed with ease of use in mind. The user tests the water, allows the test to incubate at ambient temperatures, photographs the results to count the bacteria and finally uploads the Screenshot of the global water source map people can visit to find data uploaded by mWater users findings to the global water database. Ease of use was across the globe. key to Feighery’s design goals. Image credit: mWater Feighery’s experience with writing crew procedures at NASA influenced the design of the app. The app is task-oriented and designed to require very little training beyond following the procedure. In the future, inspired by his work for the space station. There, he Feighery and his mWater team plan to introduce and his team created efficient, mobile and ambient for each type of water test to further testing techniques to test for contamination in improve ease of use and reduce the training needed drinking water sources without the need for costly lab to perform field testing. equipment such as incubators. The resulting Microbial Test results upload to the cloud-based global water Water Analysis Kit (MWAK)—part of the environmental database, using the phone’s Global Positioning System monitoring Crew Health Care System Environmental to identify the exact location of the water source. Health System (CHeCS EHS) suite aboard station— Each location gets a unique and permanent numeric sparked Feighery’s imagination, providing the basis identifier for reference by those who visit the global for the mWater testing of E. coli in 100-milliliter (3.38- water source map for updates. Users can add new ounce) water samples. water location points and input or update test results, One key innovation that came from NASA was working within the open source sharing approach for proving that these types of tests will work at near the health of the community. ambient temperatures. Various studies have shown that any temperature about 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) will produce a result, whereas Space-tested fluid flow concept traditional laboratory procedures call for incubation advances infectious disease diagnoses at 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). A low-energy medical device that can diagnose This is very important for developing countries infectious diseases on-site may soon be operating because incubators are expensive and require reliable in remote areas of the world that have limited electricity and can also easily break down. Since access to power sources. With a reduced need for many of the countries that suffer from poor access to energy and on-site diagnosis, less time would be safe water are tropical, the tests can easily be done needed between identifying a disease and beginning by anyone at room temperature most any time of treatment for it. the year. The device that could quickly identify diseases like HIV/ Hefting testing materials or expensive equipment to AIDS or tuberculosis relies on a deeper understanding test water sources is unrealistic, Feighery discovered of capillary flow. That deeper understanding is the while volunteering with Engineers Without Borders in El result of research conducted on the International Salvador. Portable, inexpensive and effective, that’s the Space Station. goal for technologies bound for the defined real estate The Capillary Flow Experiment (CFE) was a suite of of the space station, but also for those needed in fluid physics experiments conducted on the space remote or low-resource regions of the world. Low-cost station by Dr. Mark Weislogel of Portland State mWater test supplies cost users $5 per kit.

69 While a primary focus of the CFE research was fluid management in space where gravity is nearly absent, Understanding capillary flow the basic principles of capillary flow can be used on could change how fluid- Earth as well. The most direct applications for CFE research are immediate design improvements for most handling systems are designed life support equipment aboard spacecraft. In addition, and operated in any number Weislogel believes that terrestrial applications will be commercially viable, applying the unique results of of applications. space station research. Research in the microgravity environment of space is once again contributing to work that impacts our lives here on Earth. Much like it is with the medical device, University in Oregon and assisted by researchers at this deeper understanding of capillary flow could NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. change how fluid-handling systems are designed and Capillary flow, also known as wicking, is the ability of operated in any number of applications. a liquid to flow without the assistance of gravity and other external forces. It even works in opposition to those forces. Stick a straw into a glass of water; the water will rise maybe a few millimeters in the straw before you begin to drink through it. Or consider how a paper towel will draw, or wick, liquid into it. In the absence of gravity, the effect of capillary forces is more dramatic. For example, the water would rise and completely fill a straw before you begin to drink through it. CFE was a basic physics investigation that refined our understanding of how capillary action helps fluids flow. The principle has application in many fluid- handling systems from fuel tanks to cooling systems to medical devices. Cell samples in the form of bodily fluids or blood are placed in the CFE-studied medical device. Enzymes burst the samples leaving behind DNA or RNA, which is then captured on a bead that is processed by the device to identify the infectious virus. Capillary flow is used to manage and direct the flow of the cell samples inside the device. David Kelso, Ph.D., of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, developed the simple, inexpensive device. Kelso and his team were using energy- consuming items like batteries and motors to operate the device, but when his designs did not work as expected in the lab, Kelso turned to Weislogel. Kelso explained that he and his team thought that gravity would pull fluids through the device, but Weislogel had the understanding that capillary action would do this based on his previous work in microgravity. A view of Capillary Flow Experiment - 2 Interior Corner Flow 3 vessels set up during an experiment By relying on the principles of capillary flow, the device aboard the International Space Station. This study uses much less energy and can provide medical looks at capillary flow in interior corners. professionals with a valuable tool in areas with limited Image credit: NASA resources. The device is scheduled for field testing in late 2014.

70 Materials The ISS provides a unique laboratory environment for the testing of new materials. In microgravity, sedimentation and -driven convection do not take place allowing us to witness how materials change and develop over longer periods. This allows researchers to manipulate their materials in unique ways. These opportunities are leading to a better understanding of how material processes work on Earth thereby enabling the manufacturing of new materials with well-defined structures, improved strength, and better function.

Improving semiconductors with The investigation used peptides, which are small nanofibers biological molecules made from amino acids, and polymers, which are larger molecules made from Nanotechnology involves materials at the atomic many smaller parts that repeat. Proteins are made and molecular level and holds great promise for a up of peptides, and DNA is an example of a polymer. wide range of applications, from telecommunications Binding together with water, the molecules would and computing to health and medicine. But nano- form nanofibers, which would combine to create a structured materials, especially those that can single array just one molecule thick. This ultra-thin self-assemble into organized patterns, have proven surface would be used as a masking layer for a tiny difficult to control. Experiments on the International semiconductor—the basis of a computer chip. Space Station (ISS) demonstrated a new process for constructing materials that can arrange themselves Investigators developed a simple way to induce into structures just one atom thick (the nano scale). the peptides to bond, starting the process of self- The research paves the way for development of assembly. Microgravity provided a unique environment fast, high-capacity computers and information for this process, because it was not interrupted by the storage systems. force of Earth’s gravity causing some of the molecules to settle or clump together incorrectly. After the samples were returned to Earth, researchers studied them using a special microscope called an Data from ISS for nano- Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), which enables a view of the atomic scale. The images showed scale material assembly that fibers built on the ISS were greatly improved will be applied in several compared to a sample grown on Earth. The space- based sample also had a much more uniform pattern fields, including computers because there were no excess molecules or particles and chemical catalysts for settling together. industrial processes. The new, error-free, two-dimensional nanofiber layer was then used as a template, which can be traced like a blueprint to mark the processing surface of a semiconductor. Investigators tested this in space with a silicon carbide substrate. When they coated it The 2-D Nano Template experiments were designed to with the two-dimensional nano-patterned template, a build a fine layer of material that can assemble by itself focused ion-beam followed the pattern and marked into a very tight, repeating pattern. This pattern can be it onto the silicon carbide material. This is a novel used as a template for a focused beam of electrons. process for creating a very specific, incredibly tight The electron beam traces the template, carving out the pattern with less than 10 nanometers of spacing. same pattern onto another surface.

71 AFM images of (left) long-range fiber obtained in the space experiment and (right) original fiber array obtained in the ground experiment. Image credit: JAXA/Nagoya Institute of Technology

Materials that can follow such a small-scale pattern properties that can be harnessed for a variety of will be useful in several fields, including computers, mechanical devices, from robotic motions to strong chemical catalysts for industrial processes, and even braking and clutch mechanisms. The process of super-water repellent substances. Thanks to space self-organization exhibited by MR fluids also could station research, the cutting edge of nanotechnology is have long-ranging consequences for the design and sharper than ever. manufacturing of a whole host of new nanomaterials and nanotechnologies. The Colloid Self Assembly set of experiments InSPACE’s big news in the nano world conducted during InSPACE-3 looked at colloid A technology of tiny elements studied on the arrangement at a nanoscale using magnetic and International Space Station could have a big impact electric fields for development of nanomaterials. The on everything from braking systems and robotics to principal investigator for the study was Eric M. Furst, earthquake-resistant bridges and buildings. Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (InSPACE) is a set of experiments that gathered fundamental data about Magnetorheological (MR) fluids. They are a type Magnetorheological fluid of smart fluid that tends to self-assemble into shapes when exposed to magnetic fields. research in space could have MR fluids change viscosity in a magnetic field and can long-ranging consequences even be made to change their arrangement at the nanoscale level, or one billionth of a meter. Such tiny for the design and distances are typical for molecules and atoms. manufacturing of a whole host When exposed to magnetic fields, MR fluids can of new nanomaterials and quickly transition into a nearly solid state. When the magnetic field is removed, the MR fluids return to a nanotechnologies. liquid state. This process produces useful viscoelastic

72 Ph.D., University of Delaware. His study goal was to the magnetic field is toggled on and off. The columns understand the fundamental science around directed grow in diameter with time as they are exposed to a self-assembly to better define new methods of pulsed, magnetic field. This self-directed “bundling” manufacturing materials composed of small colloidal or was not observed until the InSPACE-2 investigation, nanoparticle building blocks. which ended in 2009. Colloids are tiny particles suspended in a solution. When the InSPACE study began, it identified a pulsing They are critical to industrial processes as well as phenomenon that had never been seen before. Work household products such as lotions, medications continued with InSPACE-2 and -3 investigations and detergents. to further observe how magnetic fields impact InSPACE-3 is focused on oval- or ellipsoid-shaped colloidal, self-assembly phase transitions. By better particles, as opposed to earlier InSPACE investigations understanding how these fluids “bundle” themselves with MR fluids composed of round particles. These into solid-like states in response to magnetic pulses, oval- and ellipsoid-shaped particles were expected to researchers have insight into phase separation. This pack differently and form column-like structures in a may lead them to new nanomaterials from these tiny unique way, different from previous experiments. Par- building blocks for use on Earth. ticles of InSPACE-3 are made of a polystyrene material With new manufacturing models resulting from embedded with tiny, nano-sized iron oxide particles. InSPACE -2 and -3 studies, these models could be When the fluid containing iron oxide is mixed, it has a used to improve or develop active mechanical systems brownish, rusty hue. Astronauts, under the direction of such as new brake systems, seat suspensions, stress the project team, ran a series of experiments on this transducers, robotics, rovers, airplane landing gears rust-colored mixture. and vibration damping systems. It also has promise to engineer new nanomaterials for thermal barriers, Astronauts applied a magnetic field, which was pulsed energy harvesting and color displays. from a low frequency of around 0.66 hertz up to 20 hertz, or switched on and off, roughly one time per Thanks to the InSPACE series of investigations into second up to 20 times per second. Scientists were tiny things, fundamental science could advance these looking for formation of structures that are at a lower- systems and improve how we ride, drive, fly and live— energy state. Typically in an MR fluid application, a in a big way. constant field is applied, and the particles form a gel-like structure. They don’t pack very well, so the particles have no definite form. They are like a cloud or hot glass that can form into almost any shape. In a pulsed field, the on-off magnetic field forces the particles to assemble, disassemble, assemble, disassemble and so on. In this pulsed field, the particles organized into a more tightly packed, ordered structure. Scientists could then measure and plot the column growth over time. The space station’s microgravity environment was critical to understanding the behavior of self-assembly in toggled fields. Microgravity slows down the movement of colloidal mixtures, allowing researchers to understand how they interact and how to control the tiny particles on the ground. You cannot do these experiments on Earth because the nanoparticles would Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic settle out too quickly because of gravity. Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions science At first, the particles in the fluid form long, thin chains. video image of aggregates (columns forming). As the magnetic field is applied, the magnetic dipoles The black lines are the formed columns. The in the particles cause these singular chains to grow green background is from a green LED lamp parallel to the applied field. The chains parallel to each used to provide lighting for the video camera. other interact and bond together over time. These Image credit: NASA “bundles” of chains become more like columns when

73 74 Satellites The International Space Station (ISS) offers a unique platform for access to low-Earth orbit (LEO) through its Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) working in coordination with the JEM robotic arm. This small airlock allows small devices such as CubeSats to be deployed into LEO while making the trip up to space in the relative comfort of a pressurized cargo container. This can have many benefits in reducing the cost to small satellite operators specifically in the number of launch testing and requirements for the developer. Lower cost leads to more financial incentive to enable small operators to design and prove out their technology in space.

Deploying small satellites from ISS Traditional satellites require complex systems and often, the resources of a dedicated to find their way into orbit. However, with some help from the International Space Station, a new class of small satellites is changing the model for how we JEMRMS launch new technologies into space. CubeSats, small, less than 50 centimeter and mostly 10 centimeter Ejected Satellites (4 inch) cubic satellites, have an alternative way of being deployed. Some are deployed into orbit from the space station using a robotic arm. The satellites are transported to station in soft-sided bags by cargo ships such as Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). And Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) at an appropriate time later, the satellites are taken out from the station’s cabin, and the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Robotic Manipulator System (JEMRMS) Japanese Experiment Module Robotic Manipulator System satellites are deployed into orbit. aims the satellites at their planned orbits and releases them. The JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer, an Image credit: JAXA ejecting system for small satellites, was developed by JAXA. In the past, small satellites of a certain class have been launched by rockets as piggyback satellites. When a rocket can launch extra weight other than its main the rocket and are thrown into the orbit after the main satellite, piggyback satellites are given their seats in satellite is successfully deployed. The advantages of launching satellites from the space station by robotic arm compared to piggyback on a rocket include the option to choose the best timing of the small satellite’s ejection without affecting the main satellite’s timing. Developers of small satellites With limited space for small satellites to piggyback on rockets, the space station provides the additional ben- have increased their use efit of having regularly scheduled cargo resupply flights of space station deployers on which the small satellites can more readily travel. affording non-traditional Any satellite must pass space environment tests to confirm that the satellite will survive the harsh users access to space. environment during launch and its operational period in space. Among these, the vibration test that simulates

75 developers, such as college students, cannot afford to use expensive aerospace-rated electric parts to pass the vibration test. An additional benefit to space station deployment of CubeSats is that after the CubeSats launch to space, astronauts aboard the orbiting outpost can perform quality checks on the hardware to ensure the small satellites are not damaged before deploying into space. One of the difficulties of developing free-flying satellites is that once they are launched, it is uncertain whether the satellite is still in good working order after enduring the launch vibration. With space station deployment, there is still opportunity to check out satellite systems and intervene before it deploys. This can allow designers to choose electric parts without Satellite packed in a soft-sided bag. the traditional space ratings, which can lower the Image credit: JAXA total cost of development and expedite new space- qualified technology. In order to launch a small satellite into orbit using the JEMRMS, first the space station cargo supply spacecraft, such as the HTV, delivers the satellite in a Cargo Transfer Bag. The satellites are stored in Cargo Transfer Bags in the space station cabin until time

Crew in the International Space Station install a satellite onto the Japanese Experiment Module airlock table. Image credit: JAXA

vibrations experienced during launch, subjects the satellite to a rigorous level of agitation. Piggyback satellites are required to pass this test because they are installed in the same area as the main satellite. By contrast, satellites deployed from the space station are delivered by cargo spacecraft, where they are kept in a soft bag and buffered with packing material. The FITSAT, one of the small satellites thrown into vibration level they experience during launch to the orbit by Japanese Experiment Module Robotic space station is less than that of piggyback satellites. Manipulator System. The relaxation of the vibration condition can be game- Image credit: Fukuoka Institute of Technology changing for small satellite developers because some

76 for deployment. Following the final satellite checkout, the crew installs the small satellite into the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer and places it on the JEM airlock table. Then, after the airlock is sealed, it opens to allow the airlock table to slide out of the cabin of the space station. The JEMRMS approaches the airlock table and grapples the satellite ejector. Next, the JEMRMS moves the satellite in the ejector into position for deployment into orbit. JEMRMS holds the specified attitude aiming at the satellite’s orbit. Finally, ground operators send the command to the ejector to release the satellite. In summary, introduction of this new method of satellite ejection using the JEM facility achieves the advantages of providing more frequent opportunities for small Graphic of potential receivers for GTS signals from satellite deployment in low-Earth orbit, lowering the the International Space Station. vibration test hurdles and providing the opportunity for Image credit: Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Raumfahrt a final checkout of the satellite before use. As a result of the use of the space station, potential developers of small satellites have increased their particular location several times daily. The signal is use of the space station deployers, and universities, strong enough to be received even by small wrist companies and other non-traditional space users are watches, and transmits accurate local time for finding affordable access to space. different time zones, even taking into account daylight saving time. A unique code for each ground receiver Pinpointing time and location verifies the authenticity of data and guarantees its secure transmission. Watches and clocks can Lost phones and running late for appointments automatically synchronize with these signals through could become a thing of the past thanks to benefits receivers typically activated once per day or when the originating from technology tested aboard the devices are turned on. International Space Station. The Global Transmission Services 2 (GTS-2) experiment demonstrated that The GTS can function as theft protection by sending radio transmissions could be used to synchronize a message to a receiver chip in an electronic device Earth-based clocks and watches and, eventually, to such as a phone, car, or car key that shuts down the locate stolen cars and deactivate lost credit cards device. Even someone with an authentic key would not directly from space. be able to steal the car to which it goes, because the signal makes the key unusable. That could reduce theft An antenna on the station currently transmits of car keys directly from drivers, which can sometimes Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), also known as turn violent. Greenwich Mean Time. These transmissions cover almost the entire Earth and can be received at a The system also may be able to help deter theft of larger mobile items, such as shipping containers and truck trailers, by pinpointing their exact locations. In addition to accurate setting of clocks and theft protection, other possible applications of the system Global Transmission Services include paging services, targeted broadcast of technologies can function as such as automobile recalls, remote control of various devices, container tracking and fleet- theft protection by shutting management services. down stolen vehicles, making The system’s ground receivers are capable of them unusable. accurately determining the position of the space station based on its transmission of signals. This ability

77 Space Agency (Roscosmos) and ESA’s program of joint scientific investigations and experiments aboard the space station until 2020. Space station technology demonstration could boost a new era of satellite- servicing It may be called the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), but NASA’s RRM was built to demonstrate much more than the clever ways space robots can refuel satellites. Following the success of this namesake task, RRM will demonstrate how space robots can replenish cryogen (a type of refrigerant) in the instruments of legacy satellites—existing, orbiting spacecraft not originally designed to be serviced.

Orbit altitude and inclination of mobile radio satellite constellations and their relative signal strengths compared to that of the International Remote refueling and robotics Space Station. technology uses the space Image credit: ESA station as a test bed for technology research and development. could be used in reverse to determine the location of a receiver from the station, a capability that one day might enable an orbiting spacecraft to navigate a ground vehicle on a planet below. Delivery to Space Station and Installation Using the space station for these global transmission applications offers several advantages over the New hardware deliveries to the space station help to use of other satellites. Because of the station’s low outfit the RRM module for the new set of operations. orbit, every point between 70 degrees north and 70 A new task board and the RRM On-Orbit Transfer degrees south latitude—most of the populated areas Cage (ROTC), an original device designed to transfer on Earth—can receive signals five to seven times a hardware outside the space station, are added to the day. The transmissions also can be sent using very RRM module to produce the increased capabilities. little power. Finally, because the station is manned, Astronauts mount the ROTC on the sliding table within astronauts can exchange and maintain the device the Japanese airlock and then install the task board as needed. onto the ROTC, giving the Canadian Dextre robot an The GTS experiment is supported by the company easy platform from which to retrieve and subsequently Fortis Swiss Watches, the German Aerospace Center install new hardware. (DLR), and the European Space Agency (ESA). A second task board and a new device called the Steinbeis Transfer-zentrum Raumfahrt provided Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot (VIPIR) experiment management, development and operation. are also added to the RRM module. This borescope The antenna unit was mounted on the Russian Service inspection tool, built at the Satellite Servicing Module in December 1998, carried into space summer Capabilities Office (SSCO) at NASA’s Goddard Space of 2000, and began operations in 2002, making this Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides a set experiment one of the oldest aboard the station. of eyes for internal satellite repair jobs. Both items are Integration, launch and operation of GTS are now a transferred and installed on RRM via the Japanese cooperative undertaking with the Russian Institute of airlock, ROTC and Dextre. Applied Mathematics through the Russian Federal

78 of a future cryogen-toting space tanker, instead of retiring or launching a new, costly one. The RRM demonstrations are an important step to eventually enabling that capability.

Preparing for a Servicing-Enabled Future With the 2011 launch to the space station on the last space shuttle mission, RRM has been steadily practicing robotic satellite-servicing activities in orbit. RRM uses the space station as a test bed for technology research and development in a joint effort with the Canadian Space Agency. NASA developed RRM to demonstrate how remotely operated robot mechanics could extend the lives of the hundreds of satellites residing in geosynchronous- The Robotic Refueling Mission investigation Earth orbit (GEO). Costly assets traveling about (center, on platform) uses Canadarm2, the 22,000 miles above Earth, GEO spacecraft deliver International Space Station’s robot arm, and the such essential services as weather reports, cell phone Canadian Dextre robot (right) to demonstrate communications, television broadcasts, government satellite-servicing tasks. communications and air traffic management. Servicing Image credit: NASA capabilities could greatly expand the options for government and commercial fleet operators in the future. They could potentially deliver satellite owners significant savings in spacecraft replacement and launch costs. With the help of the twin-armed Dextre robot, the additional RRM task boards and the RRM tools, the NASA continues to test capabilities for a new RRM team works its way through intermediate steps robotic servicing . In conjunction with RRM, leading up to cryogen replenishment. After retrofitting the SSCO team has been studying a conceptual valves with new hardware, peering into dark places servicing mission while building the necessary with the aid of VIPIR and creating a pressure-tight technologies, including an autonomous rendezvous seal, the RRM and Dextre duo will stop short of actual and capture system, a propellant transfer system and cryogen transfer for this round of tasks. specialized algorithms to orchestrate and synchronize satellite-servicing operations. RRM Phase 2 operations are scheduled to begin in 2014. Initial activities to demonstrate this in-orbit capability—cutting wires and removing caps—were completed in 2012 with the aid of the original RRM tools and activity boards.

Expanding Capabilities and Fleet Flexibility in Space Cryogenic fluids are used on the ground and in space to make very sensitive cameras work better. However, in time, this extremely cold substance leaks out, and the camera no longer performs well. According to Benjamin Reed, deputy project manager of the SSCO, robotically replenishing these reserves would allow spacecraft instruments to last beyond their expiration date and ultimately permit satellites to perform longer. Reed explains that both the government and commercial sectors are focused on expanding options for fleet operators. Operators can choose to extend the life of an aging observatory or spacecraft by use

79 80 Transportation Technology Combustion science is one of the longest running fields of research on the International Space Station (ISS). There is a long running campaign to understand just how both simple and more complex fuels burn in space. Understanding this process in microgravity helps us refine combustion models on Earth where gravity and turbulent buoyancy-driven convection flows make this process too difficult to model. Recent observations on ISS have shown that a phenomenon known as “cool flames” can be witnessed in the combustion chambers in orbit to understand how lower temperature burning could have significant applications towards more efficient fuel use and new combustion engine designs in the future.

Cool flame research aboard space Vedha Nayagam of Case Western Reserve University, station may lead to a cleaner Cleveland, Ohio, the results of the FLEX investigations environment on Earth revealed a never-before-seen, two-stage burning event. While a heptane droplet of fuel appeared to The anxious moments of trying to make the next extinguish, it actually continued to burn without a service station, one eye on the fuel gauge, the low-fuel visible flame. This knowledge could contribute to light staring at you, may become less frequent in the reduced pollution and better mileage in engine design future. Even the choice of which fuel is better for the because of improved prediction of flame behavior environment may be easier, thanks to droplet combus- during combustion. tion research on the International Space Station; better mileage and a very real possibility of reduced pollution After decades of flame studies that have produced on Earth may be possible in the future. well-understood, theoretical models and numerical simulations, the FLEX flame investigations in microgravity produced this unexpected result. This is the first time scientists have observed large droplets (about three millimeters) of heptane fuel that had dual Thanks to the FLEX modes of combustion and extinction. The fire went investigation in the reduced out twice, once with and once without a visible flame. While the initial burn had a traditional hot flame, the gravity environment of the second-stage vaporization was sustained by what is space station, we have new known as cool-flame, chemical heat release. insight into the mysteries of A cool flame is one that burns at about 600 degrees Celsius. To understand how cool this is, consider that flames and fuel. a typical candle is about two-and-a-half times hotter, burning at around 1,400 degrees Celsius. The phenomenon of the continued burning of heptane droplets after flame extinction in certain conditions Researchers from academia working with NASA’s was not anticipated when the study was designed. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, conducted This result came during the FLEX investigation on the the Flame Extinguishing Experiments (FLEX and space station using the Multi-User Droplet Combustion FLEX 2), which revealed some new insights into how Apparatus in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR). fuel burns. More recent FLEX experiments reveal similar two-stage Led by principal investigator (PI) Forman Williams burning phenomena with n-octane and decane fuels. of the University of California, San Diego, who has While burning the heptane droplets in the CIR, the studied combustion for more than 50 years, and co-PI first stage had a visible flame that eventually went

81 out. Once the visible flame disappeared, the heptane droplet continued rapid quasi-steady vaporization without any visible flame. This ended abruptly at a point called second-stage extinction. At this point, a smaller droplet was left behind that either experienced normal, time-dependent evaporation or sometimes grew slightly through condensation of vapor in the cloud that formed upon extinction. The new findings have been published and are available online in Combustion and Flame, the journal of the Combustion Institute. This new discovery will help scientists and engineers modify numerical models and better predict the behavior of flames, fuel and combustion. It also has many long-term implications both in space and on Earth. These findings can help with development of new technology to reduce pollution and increase gas mileage in internal combustion engines. Cool flame burning could also be A burning heptane droplet during the Flame Extinguishing Experiments investigation on the used to partially oxidize the fuel for use in burners with International Space Station. reduced emissions and better control. Image credit: NASA The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine combines diesel ignition with spark- ignition and can be used in any diesel engine, either stationary or for transportation. By merging these two technologies, engines could have the efficiency of burning diesel, while also providing reduced particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions. This could eliminate the need to burn diesel-fuel sprays, which are notorious for pollutant production, according to the researchers. Thanks to the FLEX investigation in the reduced gravity environment of the space station, we have new insight into the mysteries of flames and fuel. Whether it’s a candle, a campfire, or some other fuel source, the combustion process may be waiting for the right investigation to pry loose more secrets. Microgravity research may prove to be the tool that helps force those secrets free.

82 Robotics Key to enhancing human spaceflight missions is the ability of robots to work alongside the human crew to perform necessary tasks more efficiently. These tasks include those that are monotonous or risky and impose on the available time astronauts have to focus on science experiments. The International Space Station provides an excellent platform where these operational concepts and procedures can be developed, tested and evolved in an actual space environment while demonstrating robotic systems performance and reliability over the long duration. The precision and reliability requirements for space robotics led to dual-purpose technologies and advanced robotic capabilities for use on Earth.

Robonaut’s potential shines in robot, built for the microgravity environment to utilize multiple space, medical and human rated tools, assist with International Space industrial applications Station activities and safely work side by side with astronauts. While R2 resides aboard the space station, When scientists and engineers began developing many of the technologies developed for Robonaut and Robonaut, a first for space R2 are being adapted for use on Earth. Here are three exploration, they set out to create robotic capabilities examples: for space exploration, but did not limit their design just for use in microgravity. Instead, they decided to lend a Robo-Glove Technology robotic hand, along with many other appendages and One of these, a robotic glove, or the RoboGlove, abilities, to those in need on Earth. was developed as a grasp assist device after NASA and GM realized there was overlap between what astronauts needed in space and what factory workers could use on the ground. The RoboGlove can augment Technologies developed for human tendons to help both astronauts and factory gloves, walking and telemedi- workers with grasping tasks and potentially minimize the risk of repetitive stress injuries. cine for Robonaut are being Since astronauts wear pressurized spacesuit gloves adapted for use on Earth. during a spacewalk, they are exerting more force to hold a tool or tighten a screw, causing fatigue. The RoboGlove could help astronauts close their gloves and reduce the amount of effort they apply while conducting EVA tasks, much like the way power The first Robonaut was a collaborative effort between steering helps to steer a car. NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Though it was built for space exploration At GM, factory workers on assembly lines are missions like performing skilled hand movements performing tasks like gripping tools repeatedly during (EVA), or spacewalks, throughout their work day. These individuals are tiring NASA has since gained significant expertise in more quickly during the day by either exerting a high expanding robotic technologies for space and amount of force at multiple intervals or exerting force Earth applications through successful creation of for long periods of time. The RoboGlove may help partnerships with outside organizations. the factory workers to grip a tool longer with less discomfort by reducing the amount of force that they The latest iteration of Robonaut, Robonaut 2 (R2), was need to exert. This could result in less fatigue and co-developed with General Motors (GM) through a fewer stress injuries. Space Act Agreement. R2 is a faster, more dexterous

83 ways to adapt the glove for people with partial hand amputations, as well. A future partnership with a medical center or research institution could expand the technology of RoboGlove to medical settings, in addition to its use for space exploration and factory work at GM.

Robotic Exoskeleton NASA and The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), with the help of engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston, have jointly developed a robotic exoskeleton called X1. The X1 technology, derived from R2, may someday help astronauts stay healthier in space with the added benefit of assisting people with physical disabilities on Earth. Currently in the research and development phase, X1 is a 57-pound robotic device that a human could wear over his or her body either to assist or inhibit movement in leg joints. Worn over the legs with a harness that extends up the back and around the shoulders, X1 has 10 degrees of freedom, or joints – four motorized joints at the hips and knees, and six passive joints that allow for sidestepping, turning and pointing, and flexing a foot. Employing IHMC’s experience in exoskeleton development for paraplegics, NASA and IHMC streamlined R2 arm technology. They made it slim The Robo-Glove was built through the continuing enough to allow a person in a wheelchair to get out partnership between NASA and General Motors. using the exoskeleton. The X1 device has the potential It uses R2 technology to decrease fatigue and to produce enough force to allow for assisted walking stress when a human grasps an object. over varied terrain to paraplegics or other patients in Image credit: NASA rehabilitation settings. In addition to the IHMC and NASA applications of the X1 technology, researchers at the University of Houston (UH) are working to adapt an exoskeleton so it is controlled by brain signals. This type of NASA and GM are working to find a supplier to exoskeleton would attach a device to a person’s head make the patented RoboGlove. GM plans to use the and try to read signals that the brain sends to the legs glove technology in future advanced vehicle safety to get them to move. systems and manufacturing plant applications. NASA is experimenting with the technology in their Earth Telemedicine Applications laboratory and integrating it into a working spacesuit glove for possible future use by crew members. The Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI) and NASA worked together to adapt some of the The RoboGlove also generates interest from the technology used by R2 in space and on the ground. medical community. For instance, patients in The research team tested R2 for use in telemedicine, rehabilitation may benefit from a device that helps them conducting medical procedures through electronic to recover their skills for grasping objects. Another communication by tasking R2 to perform an ultrasound potential application involves an adapted glove that scan of a medical mannequin and to use a syringe as could both open and close to help patients recovering part of a procedure. from brain injury. NASA engineers have explored

84 Watch these videos to learn more: Robo-Glove Technology: http://tinyurl.com/nasa-robo-glove Exoskeleton Technology Applications: http://tinyurl.com/nasa-exoskeleton-tech Robonaut’s Telemedicine Initiatives: http://tinyurl.com/robonaut-telemedicine

NASA Project Engineer Shelley Rea demonstrates the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton, which could improve the mobility and strength of astronauts and paraplegics. Image credit: NASA

With human control of the teleoperated R2, tasks were performed with accuracy and efficiency using R2’s dexterity to apply the appropriate level of force and monitoring progress through R2’s vision system. This demonstration of R2’s capabilities could potentially allow physicians to conduct complex medical procedures on humans in remote locations on Earth or in space. NASA’s Space Technology Program is developing, testing and applying robotic technologies through innovative partnerships. They continue to look for new collaborative opportunities to leverage resources that will help all partners to increase their chances of mak- ing better products, as demonstrated by the numerous current applications of the R2 technology. Furthermore, using the International Space Station as a test bed for these robotic and future technologies will be vital to human exploration and beneficial to human health.

85 Student inspired by the ISS and the future of space exploration. Image credit: NASA 86 Global Education

The International Space Station has a unique ability to capture the imaginations of both students and teachers worldwide. The presence of humans aboard the station provides a foundation for numerous educational activities aimed at capturing interest and motivating children towards the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Projects such as the Amateur Radio on International Space Station (ARISS); Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM); and Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Zero Robotics competition, among others, have allowed for global student, teacher and public access to space through student image acquisition and radio contacts with crew members. Projects like these and their accompanying educational materials are distributed to students around the world. Through the continued use of the station, we will challenge and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, writers, artists, politicians and explorers.

87 88 Inspiring the next generation of students For more than a decade, the space station has with the International Space Station provided hands-on educational opportunities that encourage students to go beyond passive learning, In the 1960s, the innovators responsible for missions engaging them as interactive participants. In 2012, to the moon inspired homemade space helmets NASA published Inspiring the Next Generation: and backyard bottle rockets that sent toy soldiers International Space Station Education Opportunities a bit shy of low-Earth orbit. The innovations of the and Accomplishments, 2000-2012, which compiles International Space Station (ISS), however, provide these events to share with the public. a more direct approach to opportunities for the next generation as they watch, learn and even participate in From 2000 through 2012, there have been more than today’s missions. 42 million students, 2.8 million teachers and 25,000 schools from 44 countries involved in education activities aboard the space station. ISS provides hands-on The publication was an international effort that details opportunities available today for students educational opportunities that and summarizes those already completed. The encourage students to go comprehensive account includes education projects led by all the space station partners: NASA, the beyond passive learning. Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency.

ISS Chief Scientist Julie Robinson engages students in International Space Station education activities. Image credit: Sally Ride EarthKAM

89 Competitive student opportunities leverage real research to explain the depths of the scientific process; for instance, the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) ZeroRobotics challenge focuses on software programming skill development to guide robots through a virtual obstacle course aboard the space station. There are also contests that allow students to have their experiments performed in orbit, such as those proposed for Try ZeroG and the YouTube competitions, which were implemented on the space station in 2012. An inquiry-based approach to learning engages students and their communities, enabling them to contribute to the growing knowledge gained from research done aboard station. These types of activities involve an investigative Students from Charminade College Preparatory, approach to learning and allows students to West Hills, California, run preliminary variations of understand the true nature of science; gain in-depth their experiment in the lab. knowledge of scientific concepts, laws, and theories; Image credit: Student Spaceflight Experiment and develop interests, attitudes and “habits of mind” Program related to science and mathematics. Other opportunities for station interaction include question-and-answer sessions via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), which lets students contact astronauts on the station via ham radio. In-flight education downlink sessions through the NASA Education Office also enable student-crew com- munications, using live video feeds so communities can see the astronauts while speaking with them. There are growing commercial opportunities, such as the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program in coordination with NanoRacks. This program provides opportunities for elementary and middle school students to propose and launch their own investigations to the space station. The education publication is available in both hardcopy and through download via the International Space Station Research and Technology website at http:// www.nasa.gov/iss-science.

90 Inquiry-based Learning From the launch of the first modules of ISS into orbit, students have been provided with a unique opportunity to get involved and participate in science and engineering projects. Many of these projects support inquiry-based learning—an approach to science education that allows students to ask questions, develop hypothesis-derived experiments, obtain supporting evidence, analyze data, and identify solutions or explanations. This approach to learning is well-published as one of the most effective ways to engage students to pursue careers in scientific and technology fields.

Student scientists receive unexpected results from research in space YouTube is a great place to find bloopers, snuggly kitten or music videos. Now, it’s also a place to post grand ideas for microgravity research studies. Two of those ideas actually got to fly on the International Space Station. The YouTube Space Lab competition provided such an opportunity, and three students saw their research performed aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The YouTube Space Lab competition motivated thousands and selected three Dorothy Chen, YouTube Space Lab winner, presents findings from her study on the anti- 14- to 15-year-old students to fungal properties of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis fly their microgravity research in space at the 2013 International Space Station Research and Development Conference. ideas on ISS. Image credit: Center for the Advancement of Science in Space

For then-high school students Dorothy Chen and Sara Ma of Troy, Michigan, and Amr Mohamed of in microgravity, and the predatory behavior of Salticus Alexandria, Egypt, the sky no longer is the limit for scenicus and Phiddipus johnsoni, also known as their research questions. Chen, Ma and Mohamed a zebra jumping spider and a red-backed jumping completed research investigations as winners of the spider, respectively. The results they received from their YouTube Space Lab global contest. The competition research informed them that microgravity can be a wily invited 14- to 18-year-old students to submit two-min- participant in a research study held in space aboard an ute videos via YouTube to propose physics or biology orbiting laboratory. investigations for astronauts to perform aboard the Chen and Ma hypothesized that B. subtilis, a naturally space station. Their research was chosen out of more occurring bacteria commonly used as an anti-fungal than 2,000 entries received from around the world. agent for agricultural crops, would have increased The two winning studies looked at the anti-fungal anti-fungal properties when grown in microgravity properties of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) compared to the same bacteria produced on Earth.

91 Their testing also added phosphates and nitrates to The European Space Agency (ESA) is participating the B. subtilis nutrient source to see if the additives in the NASA, Defense Advanced Research Projects affected growth and anti-fungal strength. The phos- Agency (DARPA), and Massachusetts Institute of phates and nitrates acted as nutrients to potentially Technology (MIT) Zero Robotics competition (http:// boost growth of the bacteria. The outcome of their www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/ investigation aboard the space station showed that experiments/690.html). The competition is a chance the least amount of growth in the bacteria occurred for high school students to program droids for action in microgravity as compared to bacteria produced on on the space station. Synchronized Position Hold, Earth. They found that microgravity had no effect on Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHEREs) the degree to which phosphates and nitrates affect are volleyball-sized satellites with their own power, B. subtilis growth. propulsion, computers and navigation. Mohamed, now a college student in California, was The challenge to remotely control them began in the excited about seeing his zebra jumping spider research , where an adventurous professor from in action while talking with Astronaut Sunita Williams MIT found inspiration in the Star Wars saga to create in orbit. these intriguing robots. The mini-spacecraft have been used inside the station since 2006 to test autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers. Europe’s alliance with space droids Now formation flying in zero gravity is a programming Between video games and sci-fi movies, a group issue for European students, also. A number of of young students find time for a robotic squadron schools from ESA member states create rival programs of miniature satellites that come to life aboard the that control three SPHERES in real-time on the space International Space Station, obeying their commands. station. A local SPHERES expert, familiar with the coding requirements for the droids, is assigned to each European school. Sponsored by ESA, several university staff members are being trained at MIT. High school students compete The competition is not only about feeding the satellites to program ISS droids and sets of commands; the local experts help students build critical engineering skills, such as problem build critical engineering skills. solving, design thought process, operations training, and teamwork. Their results could lead to important

The three Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHEREs) on the Students participate in Synchronized Position Hold, space station are considered facilities. Two are Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) used for Zero Robotics. Zero Robotics. Image credit: NASA Image credit: ESA

92 advances for satellite servicing and vehicle assembly NASA has a HUNCH about student in orbit. success in engineering Teams in the U.S. and in Europe test their algorithms Several young science, technology, engineering and under realistic microgravity conditions by competing mathematics professionals entering the workforce right in elimination rounds against each other with finals on now are likely to have been motivated to enter those both sides of the Atlantic. fields by the High school students United with NASA The winners’ software is uploaded and run in the three to Create Hardware (HUNCH) Program. HUNCH is a weightless SPHERES by astronauts on the station. nationwide instructional partnership between NASA, The exciting final is streamed live at ESA’s technology center in the Netherlands, European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC), and MIT. Europe’s alliance with the space droids is stronger Students build cost-effective than ever. The competition has given hundreds of hardware and soft goods for high school students from across Europe and the United States the opportunity to operate droids in use on the ISS, launching space by coding software. The success of the first careers and saving money for rounds consolidates the station as a common scientific platform for students. They are embarking on a robotic spaceflight programs. future, and may the force be with them!

European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli observes a can crusher, built by students in the High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware Program, during aboard the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA

93 In a culmination of skills learned as part of the HUNCH program, two students from Cypress Woods High School in Texas, Robert Lipham and Alie Derkowski, were selected to attend the Technology Student Association (TSA) National Competition in Orlando, Fla., to present the skills they acquired while building Microgravity Science Glove Box (MSG) trainers for NASA. HUNCH paired with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to provide funding for the students to showcase their engineering education endeavors. Design updates made by the Lipham and Derkowski saved NASA money by streamlining the MSG trainers, which are mockups of space hardware for crew mis- Students from Cypress Ranch High School, sion preparation. When the idea to create these items Cypress, Texas, present mockup hardware to came to HUNCH, the cost estimate was $1 million for staff at NASA’s Johnson Space Center built for four MSG high-fidelity trainers. HUNCH provided NASA NASA training programs as part of the High five MSG trainers for less than $250,000. school students United with NASA to Create Every year, recognition ceremonies are held for all stu- Hardware Program. dents and teachers that participate in the HUNCH pro- Image credit: NASA gram. The number of participants continues to grow annually, as well as the quality, quantity, and diversity of the products that students fabricate. While the recognition ceremonies recognize student work, they high school and intermediate/middle school students also acknowledge the educational benefits of NASA to build cost-effective hardware and soft goods both teaming up with students. This is often measured by for use on the International Space Station and for the changes in the students’ attitudes toward their own training of NASA astronauts and flight controllers. self-assurance and desire to enter STEM careers. With more than 11 years in existence, the popularity HUNCH is an innovative solution for inspiring the next of HUNCH has grown to include 1,750 students in 77 generation of researchers and space explorers while schools across 24 different states. Trainees receive providing money-savings and resource efficiencies a hands-on opportunity that helps them strengthen for NASA. Schools can get involved through online their skills in science, technology, engineering and application on the HUNCH website at http://www. mathematics (STEM). nasahunch.com/. Students that participate in HUNCH learn to use and apply 3-D software, drafting, prototyping, welding, basic architecture, critical-thinking and problem-solving Tomatosphere™: Sowing the seeds of skills. NASA provides materials, equipment, mentoring discovery through student science and inspection oversight during the fabrication of these Home base on the moon. Boot prints on Mars. Visits items. While students are building items for NASA, they to . With the world’s space-faring nations are also building their self-confidence and interest as looking beyond the International Space Station (ISS) researchers. to envision human missions to increasingly distant To date, HUNCH participants have produced single- destinations, scientists have already begun to tackle stowage lockers, cargo transfer bags, educational the many challenges of sending humans farther and videos and experiments proposed to fly on the space farther from our home planet. Missions to the ISS have station. Some standout projects include the design made substantial contributions to our knowledge of and fabrication of a disposable, collapsible glove how the human body adapts to microgravity for three, box; an organizer for crew quarters on the space six or even 12 months, but taking steps further out into station; and a European Physiology Modules Rack the system will require much longer expeditions. trainer, which provides facilities for human physiology A , for instance, will likely mean research. Since the beginning of HUNCH in 2003, a six-month journey each way, coupled with a stay of hundreds of items for NASA have been produced. about 18 months on the surface of the planet!

94 The award-winning Tomatosphere™ educational project has helped students learn about science, space exploration, agriculture and nutrition.

Future crews on long-duration missions will need to be self-sufficient to stay safe and healthy. Since carrying two to three years’ worth of food would be expensive Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and former and impractical, astronauts will have to grow their own commander of the International Space Station, food en route to their destination. may poses with 600,000 tomato seeds for the sound futuristic, but in the closed environment of a Tomatosphere™ project, which returned to spacecraft, plants could make a huge contribution to Earth with Hadfield in May 2013 after orbiting Earth for nine months aboard the station. The life-support systems. Not only do plants provide food, seeds will be grown by 16,000 classrooms water and oxygen, they also recycle carbon dioxide in Canada and the U.S., a record number of participants for the project. Image credit: CSA, NASA

and waste. But how do you grow plants effectively in the radiation-filled environment of space? Which plants are best suited for space missions? What type of seeds would be able to withstand the journey and still germinate? What if we could recruit the next generation of astronauts, scientists and engineers to help solve the problem? Since 2001, the award-winning Tomatosphere™ educational project has done just that. An estimated 3 million students in Canada and the United States have helped researchers gather data to address these ques- tions, while learning about science, space exploration, agriculture and nutrition. Tomatosphere™ provides students with two sets of tomato seeds: one set that has been exposed to space or space-simulated envi- ronments as well as a control group for comparison. Without knowing which set is which, students grow the seedlings in their classrooms, measuring a variety of information about the tomato plants, the germina- tion rates, growth patterns and vigor of the seeds. This methodology, known as a “blind study,” allows the Grade 3 students measure their tomato plants as mystery of the project to be real science for the stu- part of the Tomatosphere™ experiment. dents. Each class submits their results to the project’s Image credit: Tomatosphere™ website to be shared with scientists studying horticul- ture and environmental biology.

95 The project’s baseline experiment investigates the germination rate of the seeds; however, supporting materials have been developed to allow educators from grades 3 to 10 to build on student understanding of a variety of topics, from the science of plants to the science of nutrition to the science of ecosystems. Tomatosphere™’s hands-on approach to learning gives students a taste for science and space research. In addition to being rewarded with their very own “space tomatoes” to bring home, the students participating in Tomatosphere™ today know that they have each made a personal contribution to assisting space exploration in the future. And perhaps one day, an astronaut biting into a fresh, juicy tomato on the surface of the Red Planet will thank them. The above photo of The Bahamas is one of the Tomatosphere™ is sponsored by the Heinz Canada, pictures taken during the 2013 spring mission. HeinzSeed, Stokes Seeds, the University of Guelph, Image credit: Sally Ride EarthKAM Let’s Talk Science, First the Seed Foundation and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Facility (WORF), which uses the science window Students photograph Earth from space located in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory. This window’s via Sally Ride EarthKAM program high-quality optics capabilities allow the camera to Sally Ride EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired take high-resolution photographs of the Earth using by Middle School Students) is a NASA educational commands sent from the students via the online outreach program enabling students, teachers program. Students and educators then use the photos and the public to become researchers, focused on as supplements to standard course materials, offering learning about Earth from the unique perspective of them an opportunity to participate in space missions space. During the Sally Ride EarthKAM missions, and various investigative projects. Creators of Sally middle school students around the world request Ride EarthKAM hope that combining the excitement images of specific locations on Earth. The entire of this space station experience with middle-school collection of Sally Ride EarthKAM images is available education will inspire a new set of explorers, scientists in a searchable image archive. This image collection and engineers. and accompanying learning guides and activities Students use Sally Ride EarthKAM to learn about are extraordinary resources to engage students in spacecraft orbits and Earth photography through the Earth and space science, geography, social studies, active use of Web-based tools and resources. With mathematics, communications, and art. Four missions the help of their teachers, they identify a target location are offered per year. and then must track the orbit of the station, reference Sally Ride EarthKAM uses a Nikon D2Xs maps and atlases, and check the weather prior to mounted in the Window Observational Research making their image request. These requests funnel to another set of students, this time at the University of California at San Diego. These college students run the Sally Ride EarthKAM Mission Operations Center for the project. Here they compile the requests into a camera Middle school students control file and, with the help of NASA’s Johnson track the orbit of the station, Space Center, uplink the requests to a computer aboard the space station. reference maps and atlases, Requests ultimately transmit to the digital camera, and check the weather before which then takes the desired images and transfers making an imagery request. them back to the station computer for downlink to Sally Ride EarthKAM computers on the ground. This entire relay process is usually complete within a few

96 Students from countries across Asia compete to see their microgravity experiments conducted on ISS.

something that most 12-year-old girls rarely have to think about. Lily was going to see her microgravity experiment conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) through a program called Try Zero Gravity Two students from Good Shepherd School in (Try Zero G). Alberta, Canada, participate in Sally Ride EarthKAM. Try Zero G is a program aimed at children and Image credit: NASA educators to learn about ISS and its educational experiments. In 2009, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) started a domestic, micro-gravity program, Try Zero G, using the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo. It is a brand new, innovative, educational hours and the photos are available online for both the program that gives the public the opportunity to participating schools and for the public to enjoy. participate in ISS experiments in Japan. This program Sally Ride EarthKAM was initiated in 1995 and origi- has successfully stimulated public interest. A total of nally called KidSat. The KidSat camera flew on three 1,597 ideas were submitted with the hope of being space shuttle flights (STS 76, 81 and 86) to test its fea- implemented in 2009. Among those, 16 were selected, sibility and was later moved to the International Space and the domestic Try Zero G idea was conducted by a Station (ISS) and renamed ISS EarthKAM. In 2013, the Japanese astronaut and continued thereafter. program was renamed once more; this time to Sally With the belief that educational activities conducted Ride EarthKAM to honor the late Dr. Sally K. Ride, on ISS are a benefit for humanity, JAXA opened up America’s first woman in space and the program’s creator. Dr. Ride passed away July 23, 2012. Since its first space station expedition in March 2001 to the present, Sally Ride EarthKAM has touched the lives of nearly 300,000 student participants and an unknown number of online followers. The program also has a strong international presence with users from 74 countries to date. Interested viewers of Sally Ride EarthKAM images and educators interested in participating have the opportunity to register online at https://earthkam.ucsd.edu/.

Try zero G 2: Igniting the passion of the next generation in Asia Twelve-year-old Lily Thornton sat with her mother in an Australian airport getting ready to leave her homeland for the first time while waiting to board a plane to Lily Thornton, age 12, of Australia at Tsukuba Japan. Such a young girl could be quite nervous about Space Center, Japan Aeropsace Exploration going to a completely different environment or the Agency (JAXA). ensuing language barrier that she would face once Image credit: JAXA she disembarked the plane, but Lily had on her mind

97 the Try Zero G program to Asian nations, implemented from 2011 under the framework of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF). The first Try Zero G for Asian nations was announced in APRSAF-17 in 2010 and 10 ideas from three countries were submitted. Five ideas were conducted by JAXA’s astronaut and implemented on Sept. 22, 2011. The second Try Zero G was announced in APRSAF-18 in Singapore right after the first Try Zero G was conducted. The number of applications increased, and JAXA received 127 applications from four countries. Eight ideas were implemented by JAXA’s astronaut on Nov. 15, 2012. Every Try Zero G, JAXA welcomes those whose ideas have been selected to observe their experiments at the JAXA facility in Tsukuba Space Center, Japan. Lily’s idea, “Weight Station,” observes the behavior of a spring balance under microgravity. Having her idea selected for the ISS experiment became big news in Lily’s small town and in her school in Victoria, Australia. Once she heard of the opportunity to watch the downlink in JAXA’s facility, she wished to see her experiment performed with her own eyes. Her school and the whole town held fundraisers for her to earn her travel expense to go to Japan to watch her dream come true. On Nov. 27, 2012, Lily and her mother, Elise Thornton, were able to travel to Japan to visit JAXA’s Tsukuba Space Center. Together they toured the space center and watched the downlinked video of Lily’s experiment conducted by astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. During the tour, they had the opportunity to talk to the flight director of the mission control room in Tsukuba Space Center. The flight director talked about ISS and of microgravity conditions. Lily and her mother listened in rapt attention and had a chance to ask questions further expanding their knowledge of ISS and microgravity conditions. Lily found the tour enjoyable and interesting. Elise said that Lily dreams of one day becoming a space robotics engineer. We hope Lily stays true to her dreams and realizes her efforts!

98 Inspiration Conducting education activities is not the reason the space station was built, but the presence of astronauts aboard the ISS serves as an inspiration to students and their teachers worldwide. Having the opportunity to connect with crew members real-time, either through “live” downlinks or simply speaking via a ham radio, ignites the imagination of students about space exploration and its application to the fields of science, technology and engineering.

Asian students work with astronauts in They observed the growth of their plants to see if there space missions was any difference between the ground and space seedlings. Karen showed the seedlings in the box on Methawi Chomthong of Mahidol Wittayanusorn School a video camera. She then pulled out some seedlings in Thailand plants chili seeds to observe how they and examined how strong their stems were. The video grow while Leonita Swandjaja of Bandung Institute image of the operation was downlinked to the Tsukuba of Technology in Indonesia distributes tomato seeds Space Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, to primary school pupils. These are seeds that have Japan. The ground staff observed the space seedlings traveled in space and many students and pupils in the as conveniently as if they were side by side with her. Asia-Pacific region have enthusiastically planted and These downlinked video images were distributed to nurtured these “space seeds.” The Space Seeds for the organizations participating in the SSAF2013 pro- Asian Future (SSAF) (http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/kuoa/ssaf/) is gram, and a timeline was set for showing the video to a joint program run by space agencies and institutions students, making them feel like they were working with for science education in the region. an astronaut.

Through collaboration with astronauts, students compare how seedlings in space look different from those they grew on the ground.

SSAF does more than simply sending seeds into space and bringing them back to Earth. It requires collaboration between astronauts and students on the ground. In September 2013, astronaut Dr. Karen Students from Osaka City University, Osaka, Nyberg pulled out a box from a stowage rack in the Japan, monitor the SSAF2013 experiment at Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo, of the Interna- Tsukuba Space Center as members of the ground tional Space Station. The box contained seedlings of crew, who have played an important role in Azuki, small red beans, that grew seven days after developing the experiment protocol and preparing being watered and kept under dark conditions. In the plant materials. parallel on the ground, students prepared their own Image credit: JAXA plant boxes and started cultivating their own seeds.

99 In Malaysia, the National Space Agency (ANGKASA) held a competition to help students develop their skills in science research with SSAF2013. A total ISS provides opportunities of 79 teams, each consisting of five members from to stimulate student interest 25 primary schools and 54 secondary schools, participated in the competition. In other countries, and participation in science, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, technology, engineering, and Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, various age groups of students and pupils learned the scientific method math (STEM). through this experience. These young people play an important role, not only in space technology, but also in other fields of science and technology for the future development of those areas. Particularly at the Russian Segment of the International space station (ISS RS) the space experiment Shadow- beacon (SE) has been performing in series since 2011 for the scientific and educational purposes. As an on-board radio beacon transmits VHF sounding signals of a 145-megahertz range, ground participants can register moments of signal appearance, follow the signal until it vanishes using the time marks, and send this information, along with data on its geographical position, to the Information Storing Center on Earth. Every operating sequence would take up to 20 minutes, while ISS is passing over the given continental measuring field.

Malaysian students set their experiment. Image credit: MARA Junior Science College, Royal Malaysian Police, Kulim, Malaysia

The results showed that the seedlings in space looked quite different from those on the ground. Students understood the wonderful capability of such tiny seeds by witnessing that they were able to adjust to various gravitational conditions. Although stricter control of experimental conditions is required for the more involved science, the observations in SSAF2013 still offer many hints to scientists who are developing their new research projects. A typical result of construction of International Space Station experimental footprint contour on the Earth surface in the azimuthal projection. Educational benefits of the space European measuring field, 27.11.11. Current experiment ‘Shadow-beacon’ on ISS moment 05.02.23 UTC. Position of undersatellite The use of spaceflight for stimulation of public point: , latitude 50.45, longitude 26.54. interest to advance science and education is a Image credit: FGUP TsNIIMash common practice among the global space agencies.

100 and development of special software for construction of experimental ISS footprint contours on the Earth’s surface. In a November 2011 series of Shadow-beacon sessions, laboratory curriculum for students was tested and students demonstrated the Shadow-beacon procedure as an extracurricular activity. For more information about the formulation and conditions of the experiment, the sessions schedule, registration instructions, information on the progress of its implementation, or for training materials, visit the website at http://knts.tsniimash.ru/shadow/en/ Default.aspx. To date, the Shadow-beacon website has received over 160 applications for participation from private and club amateur radio stations. This includes educational institutions interested in using Shadow-beacon procedures in the learning process. In order to improve the methodology for educational purposes and to strengthen its social significance, the developers hold classes in which students are directly involved in the process of data registration and analysis, and in Onboard Amateur radio equipment “.” preparation and sending resulting reports to amateur radio operators. These operators are registered Image credit: FGUP TsNIIMash participants of the experiment who will be invited to help the neighboring schools conduct space lessons. Expanding the ISS educational laboratory to orbital The data provides instant mutual position of the ISS, heights through use of programs like Shadow-beacon and each receiver allows definition of experimental provides opportunities to stimulate student interest and borders of the station’s footprint, i.e., “illuminated” spot participation in the educational process. on the Earth’s surface. With many ground receivers, Shadow-beacon simulates a “multibeam” method of radio sounding of undersatellite space. Its basic prop- erties are evaluated by comparing obtained experi- mental and calculated contours of the ISS footprint. Shadow-beacon is a developing methodology for the future experiment “Shadow,” which will use radio waves scattering in an artificial plasma. Possible application of this radio-sounding method is observation of interference in radio communication caused by plasma plumes of perspective electric thrusters, which are planned to be used for Martian expeditions. Exclusive simplicity of the radio sounding method allows the opportunity to carry out Shadow- beacon by non-professional operators (radio amateurs) Students from Moscow’s Center of Social Aid and includes participation by educational programs. to family and Children “Pechatniki” take part Therefore, the goals and objectives of the SE are both in registration of sounding signals from orbit scientific and educational in nature. by field station ra3awc in the November 2011 Observations gained in Shadow-beacon sessions using series of Shadow-beacon (SE). the in-orbit “Sputnik” hardware between 2011-2013 Image credit: FGUP TsNIIMash involved around 70 ground operators in the testing

101 Students get fit the astronaut way When you think of NASA, you likely picture either the space shuttle or the International Space Station. Perhaps you have images of and galaxies flashing before your mind’s eye. NASA’s Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut (TLA), however, focuses a little closer to home. Working with the schools in local neighborhoods and around the world, Mission X applies the same skills used to train astronauts, as well as the excitement of space exploration, to motivate over 15,000 students in 140 cities around the globe to live a healthier lifestyle.

Participants at The Resource Center (TRC) in Students ages 8 through 12 Jamestown, New York, celebrate their kick-off of Mission X 2013. learn about the importance Image credit: TRC of hydration, bone health, balanced nutrition, and fitness. Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. This growing list of countries brings the TLA program closer to its goal Led by NASA’s Human Research Program, the TLA of making kinesiology and nutrition fun for children by project includes physical education activities and encouraging them to train like astronauts! educational modules on an interactive website (www. trainlikeanastronaut.org). The activities and modules Chuck Lloyd, the NASA program manager responsible are available in 15 different languages for participants for the project, commented on how the space program in 22 countries including, the United States, Austria, excites students, prompting their active participation. Belgium, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Mission X is all about inspiring and educating our youth France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, about living a healthy lifestyle with a focus on improving their overall daily physical activity with the Mission X physical activities. Students ranging from 8 to 12 years old learn about the science behind their activities, including the importance of hydration, bone health and balanced nutrition. The activities have also been adapted for individuals with unique needs. Known as “fit explorers,” the participants stay motivated with fun ways to gauge their success. For instance, they can see what other schools are doing on the Train Like An Astronaut blog. Fit explorers log their accumulated activity points over the course of the program to help an online cartoon astronaut, known as Astro Charlie, walk to the moon. Astro Charlie has made it to the moon every year—a distance of 238,857 miles (384,403 km) or 478 million steps—and he’s still going! Third- and fourth-grade students in Japan participate in the “Jump for the Moon” activity. Fit explorers learn that astronauts train before, during Image credit: JAXA and after missions to maintain top physical health via good nutrition, rest and physical activity to function

102 in the demanding environment of microgravity. Lloyd education organizations. The overall goal of ARISS makes the connection of such health-centric mindsets contacts is to get students interested in science, for everyone, even those not planning to launch into technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by space. Program success is met when our youth makes allowing them to talk directly with the crews living and smart choices by balancing the amount of work, play working aboard the station. and sleep they get to maintain peak performance. The ARISS conversations usually last for about 10 Education is critical to our youth and to our minutes. During that time, crew aboard the station communities to ensure we have tomorrow’s workforce answer students’ questions as an audience of students and technical leadership poised to address the rigors and community members look on. of our societies. An ARISS contact takes place as a part of a Mission X was piloted in 2011. The challenge takes comprehensive suite of education activities. In place from January to March when the participants preparation for these exchanges, students learn about from around the world complete the activities and team the space station and the research conducted aboard up to help Astro Charlie arrive at the moon. Each year the space station. In addition to learning about life in Mission X continues to grow in the number of partici- space, the students learn about radio waves and how pating children and adults, countries and languages. amateur radio works. The ARISS program is all about During the 2014 Challenge, participants were able inspiring and encouraging by reaching the community to follow NASA astronaut, Mike Hopkins, who and providing a chance for schools to interact with encouraged Fit Explorers to join him in a lifelong local technical experts. It also brings the space journey to improve health and fitness. In preparation for program to their front door. his mission to the ISS, a series of videos and products In order for ARISS to work, the station must pass over were produced to showcase his . the Earth-bound communicators during amateur radio While on the station, he connected with participants transmissions to relay signals between the station’s to share his experiences in space. After his return to ham radio and ground receivers. Other factors, Earth, you can also learn what it took for him to return including weather, crew availability, and the schedules his strength and fitness to pre-mission levels. We of vehicles visiting the space station, drive the timing encourage you to follow the TLA Facebook and of the scheduled transmissions. During this pass, an pages at http://www.facebook.com/trainastronaut average of 18 questions can be answered, depending and https://twitter.com/trainastronaut.

Inspiring youth with a call to the International Space Station Ever since the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) hardware was first launched aboard on STS-106 and transferred to the space station for use by its first crew, it has been used regularly to perform contacts with

Students get interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics Astronaut Sunita L. Williams, flight engineer for Expeditions 14 and 15, talks with students at the by talking directly with crews International School of Brussels in Belgium during living and working on the an Amateur Radio on the International Space space station. Station session in the Zvezda Service Module. Image credit: NASA

103 Calling cosmonauts from home Educating future generations of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians is a global effort—one that includes the contributions of the Russian Federal Space Agency, or Roscosmos. One of the main objectives of activities aboard the International Space Station is the implementation of education and outreach projects that contribute to attracting young people to studying science. These projects also help create modern, high-technology equipment and increase society’s support of space programs in general and in the space station program, particularly. Currently aboard the Russian segment of the station are four space investigations that have educational components: Coulomb Crystal, Shadow- beacon, MAI-75 and Great Start. These experiments continue to demonstrate great benefits in capturing the imagination of students across Russia.

Future generations of scientists, technologists, A student talks to a crew member aboard the International Space Station during an Amateur engineers and mathematicians Radio on the International Space Station get their start through global (ARISS) contact. communication. Image credit: ARISS

on the complexity of the query. To date, the space Coulomb Crystal is an investigation aimed at studying station has held more than 800 ARISS sessions with the dynamics of solid, dispersed environments in an students in over 40 countries around the world. inhomogeneous, magnetic field in microgravity. Pilot studies aboard the station explore the structural prop- The downlink audio from ARISS contacts can be heard erties of Coulomb clusters—liquid crystal phase transi- by anyone in range with basic receiving equipment, tions, wave processes and the physical and mechani- transmissions broadcast on 145.800 megahertz. Inter- cal characteristics of its heating mechanism, to just ested parties can also catch a broadcast via EchoLink name a few. Students at all levels, including secondary and the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) amateur school and college, have had the opportunity to pre- radio networks or on the Internet, when available. pare and conduct the experiment on the ground. For students who have never thought about space Shadow-beacon is a VHF radio beacon that allows exploration, being involved in an amateur radio event amateur radio enthusiasts to communicate with crew such as this can be an eye-opener and pave the way members aboard the station. The presence of this for them to dare to dream and for those dreams to equipment on the Russian segment of the station come true. serves as a learning tool for students in the area of U.S. educators interested in participating in an ARISS space communications. Students learn about the communication can contact NASA’s Teaching From conditions of the admission-transfer of the radio Space Office for a proposal packet. International beacon using the world amateur radio network. They schools should submit applications via the ARISS also study the characteristics and spatial distribution website for consideration. Submissions are due in July of the intensity of the radio broadcast and rebroadcast and January of each year. from the onboard transceiver.

104 Image taken by the reception and processing Diagram of the experiment Shadow-beacon. center MAI. Image credit: Roscosmos Image credit: Roscosmos

Along the lines of Shadow-beacon, MAI-75 is also demonstrate the conduct of airborne, microscopic part of the suite of communication equipment particle suspensions in microgravity; -educa- housed aboard the Russian segment of the station. tion, which includes student experiments that capture This investigation allows for a system of quick video microgravity structural elements in the specified form downlinks from space in near-real-time. This network on the basis of polymer composite materials and diffu- distribution affords students and amateur radio sion; and diffusion, which is an educational demonstra- operators from all over Russia the opportunity to learn tion of the process of diffusion in liquid environments first-hand from space explorers what it is like to live in weightlessness. These educational projects involve and work in space. The use of Earth images from hundreds, if not thousands, of students from all regions space are also an effective source of inspiration and of Russia. Like all of our space station global, regional motivation for students. and national education programs, these experiments Great Start is an investigation aimed at popularizing serve to inspire and motivate students to pursue the achievements of cosmonautics in Russia and in careers in science, technology, engineering and math- the world. Developed with the preparation of a special ematics (STEM). questionnaire, this experiment allows the general public an opportunity to express its opinion regarding the first MAI-75 experiment, main results and human flight in space, a great event in human history. The public also gets acquainted with the results of sci- prospects for development in education entific investigations conducted aboard the space sta- The MAI-75 experiment develops and validates the tion. Great Start promotes and enhances international concepts for designing and operating an innovative cooperation on the space station for further integration telecommunication satellite system at the Moscow of Russia into the world of cultural, educational and Aviation Institute (MAI) to support video information scientific relations. As a result, there will be scientific broadcasting from space in real-time to a wide and educational workshops held to popularize the range of users within Russia’s academic mobile achievements of Russian human spaceflight with communications and internet user communities the involvement of the general population, including The MAI-75 space experiment (“Spacecraft and students and specialists in various areas of possible Modern Personal Communication Technologies”) has utilization of the results of space missions. been carried out on the International Space Station There are several more experiments planned within Russian Segment (ISS RS) since 2005. the framework of the educational program: ecology- education, which includes student experiments that

105 Students were able to immerse themselves in real- life science and engineering applications while learning management and leadership skills.

Russian Cosmonaut M. V. Tiurin during a The MAI-75 experiment is carried out using a notebook communication session with the Moscow Aviation computer on the ISS RS, which stores and prepares Institute. the photos and videos that are then transmitted to Image credit: Moscow Aviation Institute (National Earth using the ham radio communication system, the Research University) primary component of which is the onboard Kenwood TM D700 transceiver of the “Sputnik” ham radio system within the 144-146/430-440 MHz bands. The experiment used a communication channel reviewed and processed by both educational program operated on the ham radio frequencies, allowing participants and common users. Besides the MAI Data to significantly expand the number of experiment Reception and Processing Center, the following were participants both in Russia and globally. The involved in the imagery reception process: Reception experiment results can be obtained at a work station. centers at higher education institutions in Moscow (M. All that is needed is transceiver equipment that V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, N. E. Bauman operates on VHF ham radio frequencies. Moscow State Technology University); Krasnoyarsk (Siberian State Aerospace University); and Kursk (Kursk During the experiment, a total of 120 communication State Technology University); Reception centers at the sessions were carried out between the ISS RS and the Aerospace Technology Research Laboratory (Kaluga) of MAI Data Reception and Processing Center, each with the Russian Defense Sports-Technology Organization; a duration of 9-15 minutes, and over 240 video images Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center were received ranging in size from 14 to 94 KB. (Star City); and S.P. Korolev RSC Energia (Korolev); After pre-processing, the images obtained are posted Ham radio reception stations in Russia, Western on a special website where they can be viewed, Europe, Central America, and South-East Asia.

Samples of images taken from the ISS RS by amateur radio communication channel during the sessions of SE “MAI-75.” Image credit: Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University)

106 Some of the video images received are posted on the following site: http://www.issfanclub.com/image/tid/54. During ground-based preparations for MAI-75 experiment sessions, the MAI teachers and students in conjunction with experts from RSC Energia and FGUP TsNIIMash led the development and testing of in-orbit procedures and cosmonaut training; development of software and hardware packages for use on Earth at global test sites and in space; and the development and verification of procedures and tests between the ground-based remote user terminals. As a result of the first phase of the MAI-75 experiment, students were able to immerse themselves in real-life science and engineering applications, while learning management and leadership skills unique to the space station vehicle. Space experiments such as these enable the second- ary and higher-education systems to enhance the effectiveness of teaching natural sciences and to pro- mote the interest of the public in the space programs implementation. The capabilities of modern informa- tion and communication technologies, particularly the Internet, and of the mobile (cellular) communications operators enable education program participants to work directly with the general-purpose video equip- ment deployed on the ISS. Using a Web interface and a special site, the program participants are able to control a digital camera installed on the ISS RS, based on both the Web-posted camera operation schedules and the ISS sub-satellite point movement data.

Centers of data reception from the International Space Station Russian Segment during MAI-75 experiment sessions. Image credit: Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University)

107 International Space Station: Fostering commerce in space.

108 Economic Development of Space

While the International Space Station (ISS) has proven its value as a platform for a broad waterfront of research disciplines as well as technology development, it also provides an ideal opportunity to test new business relationships. This allows an opportunity to shift from a paradigm of government-funded, contractor-provided goods and services to a commercially provided, government-as-a-customer approach. This interest in promoting a more commercially oriented market in low-Earth orbit (LEO) is driven by several goals. First, it can stimulate entirely new markets not achievable in the past. Second, it creates new stakeholders in spaceflight and represents great economic opportunity. Third, it ensures strong industrial capability not only for future spaceflight but also for the many related industries. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it allows cross-pollination of ideas, processes, and best practices, as a foundation for economic development. From commercial firms spending some of their research and development funds to conduct research on the space station, to commercial service providers selling unique services to users of the orbiting lab, the beginnings of a new economy in LEO are starting to emerge.

109 110 Commercial Service Providers Evolution of the space station as a laboratory in the vanguard of research in microgravity relies on a new and growing number of commercial service providers. Rather than follow the traditional model of government-funded, contractor-provided hardware or capability, a number of firms are entering a new phase of development of LEO—establishing a market. In this model, commercial firms develop capabilities that are then offered to government users and also marketed widely to potential new users of the ISS as a research platform. The space station gains important new (or updated) capability, while the service provider gains a new market in which to offer its services.

Water production in space: the money to put a more effective system into the Thirsting for a solution baseline for the station. NASA considered a process, originally developed by Nobel Prize-winning French Developing and maintaining water production on the chemist Paul Sabatier in the early 1900s, using a International Space Station is vital for keeping the crew nickel catalyst to interact with hydrogen and carbon alive as well as supporting hygiene and equipment dioxide at elevated temperatures and to functions, yet it presents a bit of a challenge. produce water and methane. The Sabatier process is Historically, about half of station’s requirements were a well-established water production technology used met by recycling used water and the rest by deliveries for many years for advanced military and commercial from visiting cargo vehicles. That is not ideal, and applications, but the space-based application for the there’s an even greater reason for rethinking a self- station is unique because of the commercial structure generating water solution. of its implementation. For many years, the station’s life support machinery NASA determined an enhanced Sabatier system could has kept the crew alive by recycling oxygen from reduce water resupply requirements by thousands of water using electrolysis. The hydrogen this produced was considered waste gas and vented overboard. So, too, was carbon dioxide—generated by crew metabolism—vented overboard. NASA knew it forfeited two important consumables but did not have

Not only was the Sabatier hardware developed and funded by a non-governmental entity, it is operated on a purely commercial basis, with NASA buying the water NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock, commander, is photographed with the Sabatier generated for use on the Assembly - Just prior to installation into Oxygen space station. Generator System rack. Image credit: NASA

111 pounds of water per year and close the loop in the If the system did not work, NASA would owe nothing oxygen and water regeneration cycle. This represented to UTC; while the system is operational (which it significant and immediate cost savings in the operation has been for several years now), NASA pays for the of the space station, and provided a way to produce amount of water produced. While NASA provided water rather than transport it all from Earth, increasing some milestone payments during the development the goal of self-sufficiency and broadening the timeframe, these were subject to a 100-percent path for extended human survival in low-Earth orbit refund if the hardware did not work upon in-orbit and beyond. activation. This met NASA’s need to keep UTC In April 2008, NASA contracted with Hamilton motivated and met UTC’s need for cash flow during Sundstrand Space, Land & Sea, to provide water- the development phase. production services aboard the space station that ISS is a test bed for exploration, but this illustrates would connect to the existing life-support system. that it can also be a test bed for procurement options. While the company for some time has provided a Commercial providers believed that they could deliver number of systems for ISS, including spacesuits and a Sabatier system cheaply if the government would those that control electrical power, this agreement just allow them to do so. This experience is serving as expanded its existing work to develop the Sabatier a pathfinder for other innovative hardware development processor. The result was that a 550-pound stainless on ISS. steel cube the size of a small refrigerator arrived via Space Shuttle Discovery on April 7, 2010, and was operational by October of that year. Commercialization of low-Earth orbit The system includes half a dozen major components (LEO) that ingest, pressurize, condense and transform gases For too long, in order to utilize the International Space to produce water and methane gas. Besides this Station and its LEO environment, one had to be production, it is designed for containment of the very an expert, and that presented a significant barrier. reactive hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases. Water Fortunately, an exciting new commercial pathway is is processed through the Water Recovery System. revolutionizing and opening access to space—making The methane is vented into space, and the water is space just like any other place to do business. fed into the station’s water system where it undergoes In 2009, NanoRacks started under a very unique treatment before it is used for drinking, personal Space Act Agreement that enables access to the hygiene and scientific experiments. ISS manifest and in-orbit resources. NanoRacks has The implementation of Sabatier on ISS is as much self-funded specific research hardware for the station. about the technological value as about a partnering Utilizing the ultimate “Plug and Play” approach, small breakthrough; not only was the Sabatier hardware payloads in the CubeLab/CubeSat form factor are developed and funded by a non-governmental entity, plugged into platforms or racks, providing interface it is operated on a purely commercial basis, with with space station power and data capabilities. (A NASA buying the water generated for use on the CubeSat is a miniaturized satellite that usually has a space station. The collaboration between NASA and volume of exactly one liter, or a 10-cm/4-inch cube, UTC Aerospace Systems has made a significant and has a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms/2.9 contribution to the space station’s supply chain. pounds; the CubeLab is a comparable, compact Instead of traditional cost-plus contracting roles, the research environment for inside ISS.) idea was to develop a piece of spaceflight hardware with minimal NASA oversight. A new business model was in the making. The partners agreed that UTC would fund the development and operation of the Sabatier system, while NASA An exciting new commercial would launch it on an assembly mission and pathway is revolutionizing and provide it rack space on the station. Importantly, the agreement removed more than 70 percent of NASA’s opening access to space, standard requirements. Verification of the remaining making space just like any requirements was left as flexible as possible, and specific verification criteria were defined only where other place to do business. absolutely required.

112 Another slice of the new market for NanoRacks is the deployment of small satellites from the station, and no one anticipated its immediate success. NanoRacks saw the opportunity to use the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) airlock and posed the question to NASA: “If we develop our own more-efficient, less-expensive satellite deployer, can we use it?” The question was not about seeking funding, but permission, to develop and serve a market. NanoRacks identified potential customers on the U.S. west coast working on miniaturization and electronics that wanted to make small satellites but had no way to launch other than through cost-prohibitive Russian or U.S. assets. Subsequently, these companies, as well as labs and Planet Labs’ Dove satellites being deployed from organizations throughout the U.S. government, have the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer, Feb. 14, 2014. been very responsive to the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD). Initially planning to deploy only Image credit: NASA occasionally, the company now has a queue of customers ready to be deployed from the station. NanoRacks has applied the power of standardization, the efficiencies of commercialization, and the advances In return, the business model enables NanoRacks to in component miniaturization to in-orbit operations. By market to other organizations as long as it executes focusing on customer satisfaction, they have made it the mission of the U.S. National Lab to provide possible for non-experts to use the space environment research access to paying customers as commercial for experiments. users of ISS. This is extraordinary because, for the first Private sector participation provides a new model for time, the market is expressing what can and should moving forward in partnership with the government. be done on the station without direct funding by the Through that model, the private sector develops the government. Over the past three years of operation, market, secures the funding, and builds the hardware NanoRacks has sent more than 200 payloads to while the U.S. taxpayer provides the infrastructure station, literally launching a new space market. and the foundation of the U.S. National Lab in space. The benefits include transparency of costs, low-cost execution, access to space (either for microgravity or the vantage point in low-Earth orbit), speed to market (months as opposed to years), international collaboration and new-idea generation, and broad accessibility over five years.

Innovative public-private partnerships for ISS cargo services: Part 1 In January 2006, NASA announced the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program would be designated to coordinate the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station by private companies. The intent was to spur innovation by the commercial sector to design, build, launch, and fly ISS- destined cargo demonstration flights by September NanoRacks Exposed Platform, scheduled for 2013. The companies initially selected for the COTS delivery to the ISS in October 2015 on HTV-5. program were Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Rocketplane Kistler. However, the Image credit: NanoRacks companies and spacecraft ultimately completing the

113 Founder Elon Musk focused the vision early, utilizing a vertical integration business model—an arrangement The Commercial Orbital in which the supply chain of a company is owned by Transportation Services that company. In order to control quality and costs, SpaceX designs, tests and fabricates the major- (COTS) program has been ity of its components in-house, including the rocket heralded as one of the most engines used on the Falcon launch vehicles and the Dragon spacecraft. This type of production is unusual extraordinary examples of in the aerospace industry but has allowed SpaceX to public/private partnership, and significantly reduce conventional rocket development a leap of faith for NASA. and flight integration time. In addition to the capability of delivering pressurized cargo, the Dragon vehicle also has a “trunk” allowing the transport of unpressurized payloads intended for the exterior locations on the station (and for disposing of them once their opera- tional life or research mission is complete). Perhaps program demonstration requirements were the SpaceX most importantly, it can return cargo and experiment Dragon and Orbital Sciences Corporation’s samples to Earth in the pressurized volume. This vehicles. COTS did not involve binding contracts but did require the successful completion of pre- determined development and financing milestones through the use of Space Act Agreements. A separate program called the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) was initiated approximately two years after the COTS program began. While the first program developed the transportation vehicles, the second is designed to provide actual cargo and payload deliveries to the station and either cargo return or cargo removal and disposal from the station. The COTS program involved funded Space Act Agreements, with NASA providing milestone-based payments. CRS is a fixed-price services contract, which requires the two suppliers to assume liability for failure to perform their cargo deliveries. A look inside the decision by NASA to open its doors to private industry is compelling. Station resupply and disposal was the first capability area—requiring precision orbit insertion, rendezvous, and docking with another spacecraft—with commercial crew transportation to follow. Today, with space station cargo resupply efforts underway, it is clear the unprecedented efficiency of the COTS investment resulted in two new automated cargo spacecraft. It has been heralded as one of the most extraordinary examples of public/private partnership, and a leap of faith for NASA. SpaceX’s achievements include the first privately funded, liquid-fueled rocket (Falcon 1) to reach orbit on Sept. 28, 2008; the first privately funded launch, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifts off with its Dragon resupply orbit and recovery of a spacecraft, Dragon, on Dec. vehicle aboard, headed for the ISS. 9, 2010; and the first private spacecraft (Dragon) to launch to the station, on May 25, 2012. As of February Image credit: NASA 2015, SpaceX has flown six cargo missions to the ISS.

114 The new resupply services contracts represent a major change in the way NASA procures space transportation services.

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule as it approaches the rocket development and integration at the launch site. ISS, Oct. 25, 2014. Having been a partner with NASA for many years on multiple projects, the COTS and CRS projects allowed Image credit: NASA Orbital to be actively involved in the ISS program, NASA’s premier human spaceflight endeavor, leverag- ing its spacecraft and rocket experience to date. Addi- tionally, it inspired Orbital to invest in more research return of recoverable capability had been all but lost to and development to support the new endeavor. NASA since the retirement of the shuttle; the only other means of returning very small amounts of pressurized cargo has been with the crews as they return to Earth via Russian Soyuz vehicles. During a keynote speech in 2013 at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS) Conference, SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell described the notable change in public perception about space. She said the surge in commercial opportunities through partnerships with NASA and the rebirth of entrepreneurial organizations has spurred renewed awareness and excitement, including a growth in technical and engineering jobs.

Innovative public-private partnerships for ISS cargo services: Part 2 An important part of the COTS story is that a human- inhabited space station presents a useable, continuous market for commercial ventures. Initially, there was a crucial need for cargo delivery to the station. The COTS and CRS programs enabled a new mindset about resupply missions, with cost and assumption of risk no longer weighted on the government and the opportunity for private contractors to propose innovative solutions. The new resupply services contracts represent a major change in the way NASA procures space transportation services. Orbital’s Antares rocket with the Cygnus cargo vehicle aboard, launches to the International Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital) has been Space Station. involved in the for 33 years. Orbital sells satellites commercially to operators around Image credit: NASA the world. That business model evolved to incorporate

115 which enables more collaboration and continuity. And large and small U.S. aerospace companies now have the ability to contribute and join these ventures. With SpaceX and Orbital leading the way in carrying out the resupply service at a lower cost to the taxpayer, NASA can give its attention to other space station and exploration objectives.

Precision pointing platform for Earth observations from the ISS In May 2014, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Orbital’s Cygnus vehicle about to be berthed to and the U.S. corporation Teledyne Brown Engineering, the International Space Station, July 16, 2014. Inc. (TBE) announced an agreement to install and Image credit: NASA operate the imaging spectrometer DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) aboard the International Space Station. As one of four DLR-built camera systems for remote sensing, it will be fitted to the Multi-User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) As one might imagine, the level of financial risk for precision-pointing platform TBE is developing for the a commercial company in the rocket and satellite station. DESIS will be able to detect changes in the business is greater than other means of transportation. land surface, oceans and atmosphere—contributing to There is always potential for failure. A case in point is a better understanding in fields as diverse as ecology, the total loss of the Orbital 3 flight immediately after agriculture, and urban land use. The project is intended liftoff in October 2014. The loss of the cargo destined to open up new possibilities in Earth observation and is for the station required all parties to work together one of the first to be developed for ISS in cooperation to re-plan and recover from the unfortunate event. with a commercial enterprise. This follows by just two Publicly traded Orbital had built cost control into the years TBE’s award of a Cooperative Agreement by structure of the company. The books are open for the NASA to foster the commercial utilization of the space Security Exchange Commission and stockholders station by developing MUSES, which in turn launched to see, so there has to be transparency in company the company’s new commercial space-based digital finances. Insurance companies are incorporated into imaging business. the mix to help manage risk. Another challenge is that customer requirements tend to change and there is MUSES is a platform designed to host Earth-looking a desire to be flexible, but changes cost money. Past instruments, such as high-resolution digital cameras systems such as the space shuttle used cost-plus and multi- or hyperspectral instruments, and provide contracting. If NASA sought to change a requirement, precision pointing, inertia-stabilization, and other the contractor complied and issued an additional accommodations. bill. Under the fixed-price contracting of today, the The new platform is about a meter square, with gyros, change request is reviewed by all parties for potential star trackers (small aperture, space-qualified optical scope increase and evaluated for the additional cost. Alternative in-scope versus out-of-scope ideas, called “what if” scenarios, can be brainstormed without incurring a lot of cost because of the collaborative nature of all involved. Competition also makes the We must establish enough parties more cognizant of the costs. momentum to sustain Commercialization of various aspects of NASA’s commercial enterprise in low- mission is having a very positive ripple effect. New companies participating in human spaceflight and Earth orbit when the current developing unique partnerships has given regional station is no longer available. economies a boost. Multiple international suppliers have close ties to their respective space agencies,

116 products that ensure a spacecraft’s accurate attitude Remote sensing of the Earth has come a long way, in space), and step motors (used for robotics and driven by concerns about agriculture, oil or gas handy devices for repeatable positioning) designed resources, biodiversity, mineralogy, change detection to keep that platform fixed in inertial space, so as and monitoring of world heritage sites, coastal zones, to negate the wobbles and vibrations of the station, water ecosystems, and transportation. The DLR/ which is critical for image quality. MUSES can host up TBE commercial enterprise introduces a very specific to four instruments simultaneously to look down at the measurement tool that will improve with application, for Earth. The model for commercialization of the station many markets that already exist. It is as much about is evolving such that the company contributed its own the uses of the data as the data itself. For example, resources while NASA shared in the development if a farmer wants to know when, where and how to costs as well as providing the launch and in-orbit water his corn, he doesn’t really need to know all the infrastructure. TBE has secured a National Oceanic technology behind a spectral library. and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) commercial TBE was motivated to think more commercially about imaging/remote-sensing license so that it can operate how it does business. TBE responded to a broad instruments on MUSES and then sell the data agency announcement (BAA) with an idea for putting commercially. The company likens the station to a a platform on the station and starting a commercial piece of real estate several hundred miles up in the business leveraging its existing infrastructure. NASA air that is being developed over time for scientific, and TBE recognized that the quickest way to extract economic, educational, commercial, and quality of life value from the ISS would be to bring down data. purposes. TBE knows it is at one end of the pipeline—its users The first instrument placed aboard will be the will benefit from the use of the data—and by providing DLR’s DESIS hyperspectral instrument, which has data that is otherwise not available for application in the capacity to distinguish slight variations in the industries such as fisheries and agriculture, TBE will reflectance of sunlight from the Earth surface (in the be testing a commercial model for other instruments in visible through near-infrared spectrum) when pointed the future. over a geographic area. An image spectrometer is able to distinguish very subtle changes in the reflectance Visioning beyond the space station will be critical for spectrum for distinguishing plant species or whether NASA and companies like TBE. To sustain what is now the forest is undergoing some sort of stress due to a nascent commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit, drought or pests. Fine variations in surface reflectance participants must understand, accept, and plan for can give immense amounts of information just not the day when the station will no longer be there. We possible with picture, such as you would take with an off-the-shelf digital camera.

The MUSES facility on the ISS will provide a state- The MUSES platform undergoes final testing at of-the-art pointing platform for Earth observations. the TBE labs, Huntsville, Ala. Image credit: TBE Image credit: TBE

117 must not only leverage and develop the commercial ultimately executed an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on market utilizing current assets but smoothly portage the Toronto Stock Exchange. that whole commercial economy from the current About the same time the two cameras were installed, station to whatever other infrastructures we can UrtheCast started actively seeking a U.S. partner, foresee, will build, or have available in LEO or beyond. ultimately partnering with NanoRacks, seeking its In other words, we must establish enough momentum access to station. It was a natural fit, which resulted to move the commercial enterprise beyond when the in a June 2014 announcement that a suite of next- current station is no longer an asset at our disposal. generation sensors would be developed and ready to Though this might seem difficult, it actually energizes launch in late 2016 or early 2017. the foundations on which our country was established: the challenge to persist, to contribute, to open new The UrtheCast/NanoRacks partnership plans to put possibilities, and to make this world a better place. its own small module, called Lightweight UrtheCast NanoRacks Alcove (), on the U.S. side of station. The proposed project would contain three elements: The Groundbreaker: Earth observation 1. A very high-resolution, dual-mode and multi- In 2014, NanoRacks signed an agreement with a spectral camera, capable of switching between publicly traded Canadian company called UrtheCast to still images and high-resolution video. Developers place Earth Observation (EO) sensors on the American hope that after processing, the sensor can achieve side of the space station, having already placed two resolution as low as 40 centimeters, which would instruments on the Russian side. UrtheCast’s entire make it one of the highest-resolution, Earth business model is tied now to the ISS. What’s more, observation instruments in orbit. through this partnership, UrtheCast is making one 2. A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor, which of the single largest private investments to date in will send an energy pulse down to Earth, providing utilization of the station. the ability to see at night and through clouds. The The genesis of a new company began four years ago data set is not intuitive to look at and very difficult when MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), to handle, but fusing the data sets ultimately Canada’s largest aerospace company, explored creates a cloudless image. options for placing Earth observing sensors on the 3. The two sensors will be paired with a dedicated Russian segment. Ultimately, MDA determined the X-band downlink and distributed through Internet project was not compatible with its corporate mission, Cloud technology, enabling a capability akin to so did not pursue it further. However, a couple of Earth and Netflix. executives took the opportunity to spin the company out and pursue the prospect directly, calling the new firm UrtheCast. They developed an experiment to build and operate two cameras on the ISS and market the imagery worldwide. Both cameras launched in November 2013 and were installed in January 2014 via two spacewalks by Russian cosmonauts. With two sensors in place, UrtheCast went on to raise $68 million privately and

UrtheCast is a company whose entire business model is tied to the ISS and is making a large private Urthecast camera being installed on the Russian Segment of the International Space Station. investment to use the station. Image credit: Roscosmos

118 Captured by UrtheCast’s Theia camera on July 3, 2014, this image spans across Rome, Italy, and its surroundings. Image credit: UrtheCast

The station is a very capable imaging platform. It is Earth (about 6 miles by 9 miles) every second, a job in low-Earth orbit, which means very high-resolution enabled by the International Space Station. instruments can provide great images, its orbit covers Larger government and commercial satellites provide approximately 95 percent of the Earth’s inhabited nations and corporations with detailed images of the areas, and it has the ability to revisit locations regularly. planet, some of which people can browse to look The partnership between UrtheCast, NanoRacks, for their own neighborhoods. These satellites are and NASA allows instruments to be put in orbit at a expensive and limited in number, though, and either lower cost by benefitting from existing infrastructure have low spatial resolution or take images according and investment. These companies believe that to customer requests, focusing only on certain areas. dreams for space exploration will remain politically and Crucially, these satellites might not take repeat images economically difficult to achieve unless an energized of the same region for several months. This makes it customer base emerges. They believe that data from difficult to study rapid changes, such as international state-of-the-art EO sensors on the station offer an conflicts, environmental degradation or fast-growing obvious solution to help stimulate that demand. forest fires. A small-satellite startup called Planet Labs is using the space station as a launch pad for a fleet of miniature A flock of CubeSats photographs our changing planet Around 10:50 a.m. on July 23, 2014, the California Highway Patrol received a report of a fast-growing Planet Labs aims to make wildfire in Riverside County, west of Palm Springs. The blaze spread quickly, forcing some residents to evacu- Dove images searchable and ate. Within 15 minutes, a toaster-sized satellite called easily available for everyone a Dove captured an image depicting the fire’s size, the path it burned through, the wind’s direction, and the from governments studying fire’s exact location. The fire was fully contained within changing shorelines to a day. The satellite took the picture without anyone requesting it, simply performing its normal task of firefighters battling a forest fire. photographing a 10-kilometer by 15-kilometer strip of

119 to Earth and, by design, burn up in the atmosphere. Doves are continually replaced by newer models, which Planet Labs is constantly testing and updating from its San Francisco headquarters. To date, Planet Labs has built more than 100 Doves. The company is funded through private venture capital and private investors. Eventually, Planet Labs aims to make Dove images searchable and easily available for anyone who wants to look at them—from spectators eager to see their houses, to governments studying changing shorelines and firefighters battling a blaze in a small slice of forest.

Stretch your horizons, Stay Curious™ Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation Two Planet Labs “Dove” CubeSats immediately (KSTC), and two subsidiaries, Kentucky Space (a after being deployed from the ISS. nonprofit company) and Space , Inc. (a for-profit Image credit: NASA enterprise) are building a reputation for designing and executing diverse initiatives in science, technology, entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation. The focus is on small, high-value satellites and applications, and novel space platforms and experiments for the orbital cameras. These “flocks” of 11-pound (5 kg) space station. CubeSats, or Doves, take continuous photos of the entire Earth and transmit them to ground stations every Kentucky Space began as a vehicle for involving 90 minutes. They provide an unprecedented view of university students in space projects. It is an ambitious Earth, from growth in cities to summer wildfires like the consortium of universities and public and private orga- one in California. nizations aimed at designing and leading innovative space missions within realistic budgets and objectives. Different types of CubeSats frequently launch from the The programs cover a spectrum of flight opportunities space station and provide a novel way to image Earth, including near-space balloons; sub-orbital, orbital and log ship traffic, and send messages, among many other tasks. An entire flock allows Planet Labs 8 to collect planet-wide data, which would be impossible with a larger single satellite. The company started in Silicon Valley in 2009 with a goal of capturing a daily global mosaic of Earth. This requires a large fleet of CubeSats, and the station is the key to getting them into space. From its perch 230 miles (370 km) above Earth, each Dove captures images once per second and each has a resolution of 10 to 16 feet (three to five meters). That means each pixel in the camera’s viewing area corresponds to a 3-meter-wide object. That resolution is enough to distinguish individual trees in a rainforest but not enough to identify a person walking on the street. Planet Labs has launched 71 Doves since January 2014 using CubeSat deployers developed by NanoRacks, LLC. In part because the CubeSats are Irrigated fields in Pinal County, Arizona, as viewed so small and relatively inexpensive, they have a lifespan by a Dove CubeSat. of only a few months of operations, but their orbital Image credit: Planet Labs altitudes are low enough that they eventually fall back

120 In May 2011, Kentucky Space launched an exciting new initiative: the study and exploration of medical Space has always been at solutions in the microgravity environment of space. the forefront of innovation and The Exomedicine Institute, an interdisciplinary team of top scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, has been really pushes any company to assembled to forge ahead into this new and potentially challenge the status quo. promising field of research. All organisms on Earth, during evolution over billions of years, have adapted their form and function to the force of Earth’s gravity. These characteristics are encoded in their genes: up-down asymmetry, ISS missions; as well as partnerships with organiza- structural strength, size of force-producing elements tions and space agencies worldwide. Twyman Cle- and sensory systems. ments was a student at Kentucky Space only a few years ago; now he is the young CEO of Space Tango. Since gravity influences all biological systems at a molecular level, what happens to biological systems Based in Lexington, Space Tango seeks to utilize when the influence of gravity is modified or removed? space to discover, design and commercialize solutions We can’t remove gravity on Earth, but conducting for applications on Earth. This is accomplished through biomedical research in space makes certain Earth- platforms—hardware and software offerings to those in bound limitations disappear. the research communities looking to utilize the unique environment of microgravity. Focused primarily on the Without gravity, cells, molecules, protein crystals, and entrepreneurial space marketplace, Space Tango’s microbes behave in very different ways. Microgravity capabilities and experience involve CubeSat class and thus presents opportunities to explore new and other micro-satellites and subsystems, satellite ground potentially game-changing discoveries in areas such operations, space platform design and testing, and as human tissue regeneration, drug development, development of novel technology and experiments treatments for diseases such as cancer and other life- for the station. The company is committed to a highly threatening and chronic conditions, as well as energy collaborative business strategy and works closely and novel materials. with a number of other companies, universities and The work of Kentucky Space, Space Tango, and organizations. the Exomedicine Institute reflect an interdisciplinary A general research platform/multi-lab facility, called approach to research and development (R&D), as TangoLab by Clements, will be installed in 2015 on well as the rise of a “newspace” era with a multitude the ISS. It will host a variety of payloads relevant to the medical field, the material sciences, and environmental sensing. Researchers will interact with their experi- ments in the unique space environment right from a computer, with data transmitted over the internet. The CubeLab arose from a need for repeatable/afford- able research on the station. The uniquely designed research module was developed by Kentucky Space, based on the proven CubeSat form-factor. Providing a standardized platform and open architecture for the experimental modules shortens the development cycle and lowers costs for research and development. The goal is to lead to quicker time to market for new drug products, treatments or procedures. The TangoLab research platform is a work of elegant art. It was not simple to develop, requiring the collaborative experience and creativity of everyone Flatworms being prepared for loading into the involved, with the aid of 3-D printing. The premise, Biological Research In Canisters hardware. though, is simple: use of standardized hardware Image credit: Space Tango dramatically lowers the cost of space station utilization.

121 of players. Lowering barriers enables people to do The flatworms had been delivered to the space research in, and manufacture for, LEO. Based on a full- station one month earlier as part of a collaboration service philosophy, these three companies recognize between independent, nonprofit space contractor that the average person knows little about handling a Kentucky Space and its for-profit arm Space Tango, launch with NASA, so the companies offer engineering the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space and technical expertise to assist with experiment (CASIS), NASA and the Tufts Center for Regenerative design, payload design and integration, facilities, and and Development Biology. The experiment could a full suite of test equipment and capabilities for a lead to powerful benefits for humanity, including successful launch. further understanding of the regenerative powers Going into space forces people to think outside of the flatworms that could someday impact global the box; space has always been at the forefront of healthcare, including treatments for cancers, treatment innovation and really pushes any company to challenge of spinal cord injuries, and the ability to correct the status quo. developmental problems in embryos. In 2000, Kimel created another entity as well: Two factors were critical to the success of the IdeaFestival, an international event centered on research: time and temperature. The flatworms needed innovation, discovery and creative thinking across to be transported quickly from Long Beach, California, different disciplines. IdeaFestival is an annual four-day to Tufts University in Boston for analysis, and the gathering of an eclectic network of global thinkers shipment needed to maintain a temperature of 12 and one-of-a-kind innovators bound together by an intense curiosity about what is impacting and shaping the future. Those who attend leave the event with interesting new ideas, a better sense of connectedness, an expanded network of relationships Innovative logistics by FedEx and lasting inspiration to help create change in the world. enabled the possibility to These types of opportunities help inform others of new connect the space station and ideas, fueling the pipeline of newspace activity with a strong terrestrial team to a vision to increase private sector entrepreneurship through student pioneers. advance research. As the IdeaFestival mantra goes: Stretch Your Horizons, Stay Curious—for a new idea can be generated when you least expect it.

Mission critical: Flatworm experiment races the clock after splashdown Everyone is familiar with the blastoff countdown associated with a rocket headed to space, but what about the countdown that takes place once a capsule returns to Earth? The highly sensitive biomedical experiments that travel aboard the International Space Station have the potential to impact lives. Success of these experiments often depends on a swift shipment from the splashdown site to the lab, where scientists can analyze crucial data. The moments between splashdown and analysis are critical. Flatworm specimens are prepared prior to their This was the case when a capsule from the station launch to the ISS. carrying 48 planarian flatworms (known for their ability Image credit: Space Tango to regenerate their own body parts) splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California in 2014.

122 Economic development of space in JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been striving for economic development of space in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM, or “Kibo,” which means “hope” in Japanese) and H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, or “Kounotori,” which means “white stork” in Japanese). Economic development of space includes advancing technology of Japanese companies, expanding spin-offs and opening the door to commercial sectors in Kibo utilization.

Navigation and Communication Services for the International Space Station Throughout the history of the ISS program, many This FedEx environmentally controlled shipping Japanese industries have been challenging traditional container, with SenseAware environmental approaches to human spaceflight and acquiring monitoring, transported the Space Tango advanced human space technologies. flatworms experiment to the lab after returning to Some Japanese firms, with acquired globally Earth from the ISS. competitive technologies and know-how, have Image credit: FedEx delivered human space technology systems to the worldwide commercial market.

degrees Celsius throughout its journey. Mishandling of either environmental factor could kill the flatworms and cause the experiment to fail. There are many undiscovered FedEx was up for the challenge. Space Tango, on Ken- possibilities for increasing tucky Space’s behalf, worked with the FedEx Space space station utilization. JAXA Desk team, logistical experts for the and the power behind FedEx® Space Solutions, to design already has discovered and the optimum journey for the flatworm experiment. successfully accomplished When the capsule hit the water, the countdown began. a number of commercial The vessel was rapidly retrieved and the flatworm projects aboard Kibo. shipment quickly sent on its way to Boston via FedEx Express, inside a custom-designed, temperature-con- trolled package. The shipment was monitored through- out its journey by SenseAware, powered by FedEx, which allowed stakeholders at Kentucky Space, Space Tango and Tufts University to not only track its location, An example is the Proximity Link system applied but also remain certain that the temperature inside the for commercial spacecraft. Mitsubishi Electric package did not waver from 12 degrees Celsius. (MELCO) designed and produced the Proximity Link System (PLS), which communicates with Proximity The shipment arrived safely and on time in Boston, Communication System (PROX) installed in the giving Tufts’ scientists near-immediate access to the Kibo module, providing navigational information flatworms. Mission: Accomplished. and communication links to space vehicles to safely Research continues on the effects of a microgravity approach and depart from the station. MELCO environment on the regenerative ability of flatworms. originally designed and produced this PROX/PLS to Innovative logistics by FedEx enabled the possibility enable HTV, or Kountori, to rendezvous and berth with to connect the space station and a strong terrestrial the station. This brand new technology has since been team—all of which played a key role in advancing the applied to Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft to enable its research in this important field. safe arrival at the station.

123 Commercial Utilization Initiatives sedimentation, and convection on crystals generated JAXA has endeavored to utilize the Kibo module in microgravity. Nanoskeleton data will be added into a commercially for research by following three core computational chemistry simulation for Nanoskeleton initiatives based on our human space technologies synthesis, and the simulation will be used for the and experiences of its utilization: promoting use of the prediction of the proper parameters for synthesis on station to new potential commercial markets, creating the ground. Shiseido Co., Ltd. and universities took new opportunities for commercial customers to use part in this project. the station, and enhancing the capabilities of Kibo. Strategic promotion by JAXA has increased the num- ber of commercial customers, including non-traditional Promotion to Potential Commercial markets users. One example is drug companies benefitting JAXA searched promising research areas with ground from the protein crystal growth experiments in Kibo. applications and recognized the potential benefit for Another example is space experimentation on the drug design using protein crystal growth experiments, effects of probiotics on immune function, a collabora- Earth observation and generation of new materials. tive work between a beverage company, Yakult Hon- sha Co., Ltd. and JAXA. Astronauts may be at physical For Earth observation, the Japan Space Forum delivers risk because a long stay in space is known to alter the high-quality movies of the Earth via internet with its human immune function. A probiotic, Lactobacillus Kibo Hi-Vision EarthView Educational Program service. casei strain Shirota, has been demonstrated to offer The possibility of generating new materials in space health benefits by improving intestinal microbiota and has attracted commercial companies. One example maintaining immune function on the ground. An investi- is the colloidal crystals as novel optical materials. gation in Kibo examined the health benefits of probiot- Large, high-quality colloidal crystals made in space are ics consumption on human immune systems aboard expected to have applications for photonic materials. the space station. It may lead to the development of This experiment was executed as a collaborative work functional and techniques for long-term between Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Fuji Chemical Lactobacillus preservation on Earth. Co., Ltd. and universities. New Opportunities for Commercial Customers The Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity (Nanoskeleton) investigation aimed In 2013, JAXA started a new commercial utilization to clarify the effect of gravity on oil flotation, scheme, based on knowledge from previous activity,

In space On ground

Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota. Protein crystal growth for drug development. Image credit: Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. Image credit: JAXA

124 to provide more user-friendly utilization services and a system to facilitate entry and shorten the time required for implementation of space activities. JAXA’s efforts to encourage new entries from non- traditional users into the space field continue. One of the major services already available to commercial users is the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD), which deploys small satellites for Earth observation, remote sensing and capa- bility building. J-SSOD is an excellent example of producing new business using an existing facility, combining the JEM, airlock and robotic arm. This conceptual breakthrough has spread. In fact, once the deployment of small satellites using the airlock had proven to be a valuable capability, a US com- pany—with NASA as a customer—developed their Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) for new own deployer to take advantage of this opportunity. material generation and high-temperature thermal A Brazilian microsatellite, AESP-14, was successfully property data acquisition. deployed in February 2015 from Kibo at Tsukuba Image credit: JAXA Space Center. AESP-14 was developed by Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) with support of Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), with Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS) ensuring deployment from Kibo. This was the first opportunity for commercial utilization of J-SSOD. Various new space experiment technologies are being developed such as crystallization technique that acquires large single crystals for neutron diffraction and widening temperature range to meet commercial users’ demands. Protein crystal growth project has attracted research-and-development oriented drug companies through targeted direct promotion. Inter- protein Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and ARKRAY, Inc. participated in JAXA’s protein crystal growth experiments. Interprotein set out to achieve high-quality, co-crystal structure of proteins and low- molecular compounds for effective design of drugs. Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism Chugai aimed at precise 3-D structures of proteins (ExHAM) attached to the JEM Exposed Facility. by the high-quality crystals grown in microgravity, to help understand the structure/function relationship of Image credit: JAXA drug candidates and create revolutionary new drugs. ARKRAY and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Tech- nology took part in JAXA’s experiment to analyze the protein structure that is indispensable for the develop- Rodent facility (Mouse Habitat Unit) for rodent ment of biosensing technology and aim at its applica- research, fluorescence microscope and Electrostatic tion for an innovative biosensing system that will be Levitation Furnace (ELF) for new material generation helpful for the treatment and diagnosis of diabetes. research and high-temperature thermal property data acquisition. Enhancing the Capabilities of Kibo The space station also serves as a test bed for future JAXA continues upgrades of existing Kibo facilities exploration, satellite technology validation and trans- as well as new facility installations, including the fer vehicle technology development. JAXA provides

125 simple external experiment opportunities for technical demonstrations. For example, the Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) enables exposure of materials to the space environment out- side the station, and extraction. Junkosha Inc. will utilize ExHAM facility to expose the PEEK electric wire material, which has high-temperature and high-radiation resistance, to the space environment. Acquired data will be evaluated for the company’s wire commercialization in space craft use. There are likely many undiscovered possibilities for increasing space station utilization. JAXA already has discovered and successfully accomplished a number of commercial projects aboard Kibo and will keep finding innovative ways to facilitate its commercial utilization. This will benefit all humanity as well as provide benefits to Japan.

126 Commercial Research The unique environment of microgravity provides opportunities for many types of commercially-viable research. Using model organisms (such as rodents or flatworms) to help understand terrestrial concerns such as bone loss or muscle wasting, performing materials research on colloids to develop products that are more uniform and have a longer shelf life, growing larger protein crystals on the space station to help develop monoclonal antibodies, and using the station as a launchpad for a flock of Earth-observing satellites, are just a few examples of the diverse research interests of the corporate world and how they intersect with the International Space Station. These summaries of commercial research activities in progress show the impact and interest in using the space station for research and development.

Colloids in space: Where consumer prod- ucts and science intersect Using microgravity to study The Proctor & Gamble story represents two types of people: the consumer and the materials scientist. the exceptionally small As a rule, consumers want to use products that particles that make up liquid enhance their lives. Those products must fulfill the products may ultimately lead promises they promote, whether to have a long shelf life, be easy to use, or perform as advertised. In the to improving health, beauty case of products such as shampoos or liquid soaps, and household care products the purchaser does not want to see obvious physical separation of the material within the bottle (a sediment that we use every day. or settling), which could indicate something amiss. Materials or physical scientists, for their part, want to produce products or discover formulas that hold new promise and function. They want to know how certain A series of colloid investigations aboard the space active ingredients or stabilizers behave when added to station were conducted from October 2013 to March product formulas. They constantly hunt for the optimal 2014 using a science platform known as the Advanced mix that will increase product shelf life or performance. Colloids Experiment (ACE), it is a collaboration Sometimes it takes working under very special between P&G and Case Western Reserve University. circumstances, which is why materials scientists at Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) decided to take Though the investigation is designed to help their research to a higher level—aboard the orbiting researchers understand how to optimize stabilizers laboratory of the International Space Station. Working for extending product shelf life, the results also with NASA, P&G has funded an investigation of how are intended to cut development, production and gas and liquid phases separate and come together in transportation costs. Better stabilizers result in better microgravity in the study of colloids. quality, reduced costs and greener, more concentrated products that use less plastic packaging, resist On Earth, gravity complicates this research by causing collapse, and remain consistent throughout their life. In heavy components to sink and lighter ones to float. such an improved process, the first ounce coming out This movement occurs very quickly, making it difficult of the bottle will be the same as the last. to understand what is happening and why. Space, however, negates these gravitational forces, revealing Driving P&G’s interest in research on the station is the the natural movement of the colloids. The in-orbit fact that about two thirds of its biggest brands are soft- samples’ aging process works more slowly and evenly, matter systems—things like fabric softener, deodorant making it easier to study. and detergent—that could benefit from this study. Armed with a better understanding of the nature of the

127 Similar to what is under investigation in the Advanced Colloids Experiment, the above microscopic view of product sample gel in microgravity is dominated with fragile strands composed of many particles in a cross-section. The Model of gel structure above reveals characteristics hidden by gravity. Image credit: NASA

fluids separation, researchers can work on creating One reason P&G is involved in this research is its better stabilizers and product formulations. interest in understanding phase separation kinetics ACE-M-1 studied behavior of microscopic particles of colloids, masked by gravity on Earth. The small in liquids, gels and creams. ACE-M-2 is currently blobs that form and grow in microgravity, instead of operating on the space station and continues work in phase separation and how to influence phase separation. The investigation examines the behavior of model colloid-rich liquids and model colloid-poor gases near the critical point, or the point at which no distinct boundary exists between the two phases. ACE-M-2 records micro-scale events on short time scales, while previous experiments observed large scale behavior over many weeks. Liquids and gases of the same material usually have different densities and so would behave differently under the influence of gravity, making the microgravity environment of the International Space Station ideal for these experiments. The ACE-M-3 experiment involves the design and assembly of complex three-dimensional structures from small particles suspended within a fluid medium. These so-called self-assembled colloidal structures European Space Agency astronaut Paolo are vital to the design of advanced optical materials. Nespoli operates the Light Microscopy Module Researching them in the microgravity environment will microscope aboard the International Space provide insight into the relation between particle shape, Station on a previous mission. crystal symmetry and structure: a fundamental issue in Image credit: NASA condensed-matter science.

128 the simple top and bottom phase seen on Earth, allow of normal weight-bearing activities in the microgravity recording of the kinetics of this process. The scientific environment. Using nutrition and specific exercises, insights that result from having this data available the crew aboard the International Space Station can can lead to more efficient and improved product partially mitigate these concerns. This accelerated formulations that are less expensive to produce and/or aspect of bone loss in spaceflight provides an provide longer shelf life. For a product such as Downy, opportunity for researchers to identify the mechanisms with sales of about $4 billion a year, even a small one that control bones at a cellular level. While most people percent savings in production costs or a slightly longer will never experience life in space, the benefits of shelf life provides a significant return on the investment. studying bone and muscle loss aboard the station has P&G will spend $10 million this year on research to the potential to touch lives here on the ground. address product shelf life problems. Bone loss from osteoporosis is a major concern for the The results of this work can impact far more than elderly. However, inactivity from injury, illness, or mal- fabric softener. nutrition from anorexia or dietary challenges can lead The potential for the ACE research application in to bone breakdown in otherwise healthy people. For other areas is something that continues to grow. For some time, researchers have tried to understand this instance, advanced colloidal formulas also could phenomenon and have looked at rodents flown aboard conceivably lead to improvements in items such as liquid pharmaceuticals, which can be ineffective or even dangerous if not properly mixed when consumed. With better formulations, consumers could look forward to the certainty of a perfect product every time. Gaining a better understanding of the physical processes of particles obtained through ACE samples, for example, may greatly impact the quality, production and longevity of commercial products. Using microgravity to study the exceptionally small particles, known as colloids, which make up these types of liquid products, researchers can gain more insight into their characteristics. This may ultimately aid research efforts in improving products people use every day.

Space mice teach us about muscle and bone loss Bone breakage, buildup and eventual loss have a significant impact on our bodies. Bone loss occurs at an accelerated rate in space because of the lack

Now that the station is complete, rodent research can continue for longer test A view inside of the NASA Rodent Research facility, runs than shuttle missions self-contained habitat that provides its occupants living space, food, water, ventilation, and lighting. permitted, thereby increasing Cabin air is exchanged with the facility, creating data collection and the a slight negative pressure inside the cage to pull potential for discovery. animal waste into a collection filter. Image credit: NASA

129 space shuttle missions to the space station in a series of experiments using the Commercial Biomedical Test- ing Module (CBTM). The main goal is the devel- The CBTM studies came about as a result of two opment of new, biologically former Bioserve graduate students going to work based drugs, providing even for Amgen, a California-based biopharmaceutical company. The students interested Amgen in tougher weapons for physi- testing in microgravity three drugs that were under cians fighting human diseases. development—two targeting bone loss and one targeting muscle atrophy. Not only did Amgen provide substantial funding for the three investigations, the company also contributed significant in-kind resources. (MABs), are engineered proteins that bind themselves Bone remodeling—the natural breakdown and rebuild- to substances that cause disease. Monoclonal ing of bone—occurs in a balanced fashion in healthy antibodies can be created for almost any target inside bone so that the rate of rebuilding, known as forma- a cell or on its surface, allowing greater specificity and tion, equals the rate of breakdown and absorption, fewer side effects than conventional therapies. They known as resorption. This cycle of breakdown and include top-selling drugs used to treat several types of buildup helps us to maintain skeletal strength and inflammation and cancer. repair injuries such as fractures, so we can continue to To be effective, though, MABs have to be dispensed enjoy normal mobility. When this natural process is out in large quantities, which can make them difficult to of balance, bones and health may suffer. administer to patients. Rather than simply swallowing The first investigation launched in 2001 and looked at a pill, people receiving MAB therapy must receive using Osteoprotegrin (OPG), while in 2011 researchers injections or intravenous infusions. Now research flew a sclerostin antibody treatment. OPG and the on the International Space Station is changing that. sclerostin antibody are used as drugs to mitigate bone By taking MABs into space and crystallizing them in loss and are based on naturally occurring molecules microgravity, Merck Research Laboratories is working in the body. The 2007 flight studied myostatin, a toward high-concentration, high-quality mixtures that preclinical therapy for treating muscle loss. All three can be given to patients more efficiently. therapeutics, which were in preclinical development Space is an excellent environment to study complex, with Amgen during the time of their flights, had positive three-dimensional proteins, because gravity and impacts on maintaining bone strength. convective forces do not get in the way of crystal Moving therapies from the lab to the medicine cabinet formation, which allows creation of larger and more takes time, as did the progression of these studies, perfect crystals. With large crystals, scientists on the which spanned a decade in orbit as the space station was under construction. This duration enabled advances in the ways researchers conducted their microgravity investigations, including enhancements to the available tools for analysis. Now that the station is complete, this research can continue for longer test runs than shuttle missions permitted, thereby increasing data collection and the potential for discovery.

Protein crystals in microgravity Pharmaceutical companies have developed myriad ways to fight ailments from arthritis to cancer, but the body’s immune systems inspired the newest The difference between protein crystals grown on weapons in their arsenal. A new generation of drugs the ground (top) versus in microgravity (bottom). targets specific attackers, sparking immune cells into Image credit: Merck action. These drugs, called monoclonal antibodies

130 ground can use X-ray crystallography to determine how the protein is organized. Determining protein structures helps researchers design new drugs. The overall goal is to use ISS The first experiment on the space station yielded to learn more about muscle crystals larger than those that could be grown on wasting so scientists and the ground, which was promising. Merck continued space-based protein crystallization experiments on 10 drug companies can help separate shuttle flights. patients who are at risk. Based on these previous findings, Paul Reichert, chemistry research fellow at Merck, expects to grow uniform suspensions of 5-micron crystals without impurities that can develop on Earth. He also plans atrophy happens more gradually here. Ultimately, to study how temperature gradients can affect the atrophy affects everyone, as all humans lose muscle as beginning of crystal formation, or nucleation. Reichert they get older. flew two different MAB experiments on the SpaceX-3 cargo flight in April 2014 and is planning additional Scientists still are not sure what happens to trigger experiments to launch on the SpaceX-6 flight, planned muscle loss. Atrophy comes from many pathways for April 2015. in the body, from different cell signaling processes to removal of proteins and loss of amino acids. If These high of protein crystals could scientists can understand how these pathways improve the way patients receive MABs to treat a wide regulate muscle mass, they might be able to develop range of diseases. Because MABs have to be deliv- new treatments for diseases. First, though, they need a ered in large amounts, they are usually administered better picture of atrophy itself, and the study of rodents intravenously in a hospital, where a patient would have is helping. By observing changes to the genetic to wait for several hours to receive the full dose. Highly activity of mice, scientists at the Novartis Institutes for concentrated suspensions of crystallized proteins, pro- BioMedical Research (NIBR) hope to learn more about duced in microgravity, could instead be given in a sim- microgravity’s effects on muscle mass. ple shot in a doctor’s office. The fluid would look similar to milk, Reichert said, opaque with high concentrations The Novartis team got involved at the invitation of of crystallized MABs making it appear white. the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the National Laboratory. Highly-concentrated MAB mixtures also would be Samuel Cadena and his colleagues at Novartis have more efficient to ship and store. Currently, different components of MAB treatments are manufactured at different sites and then shipped overseas or to different places in the United States to be formulated into drugs given to patients. Reichert hopes the work will attract other scientists who want to conduct advanced research in space. But the main goal is the development of new, biologically based drugs, providing even tougher weapons for physicians fighting human diseases.

Muscle atrophy: Mice on the ISS helping life on Earth Muscles atrophy, or waste away, when they are not used. In microgravity, muscles atrophy even in those who exercise regularly. Without normal gravity to work against, in fact, some muscles begin to atrophy within NASA’s rodent habitat module seen with both days after an astronaut reaches orbit. Some people still access doors open. on Earth experience muscle loss because of diseases or injuries that can make it harder to move, although Image credit: NASA

131 been studying atrophy for several years, and consider using the space station to further their work a unique opportunity. Cadena and his research partners are studying mice genetically engineered to resist muscle loss. Called knockout mice, these animals lack specific genes that would enable them to make a protein called Muscle Ring Finger-1, or MuRF-1, which hastens muscle loss by labeling certain proteins for degradation. Expression of this protein increases in several muscle atrophy situations, including spaceflight. One group of 10 MuRF-1 knockout mice flew to the space station on SpaceX-4, arriving on Sept. 23, 2014. A second set stayed at NASA’s . Each group was accompanied by an experimental control group of 10 mice whose genes were not changed. The animals stayed in space for three weeks then were euthanized and sent back to Earth for study. Researchers are still analyzing early data, but expect that the knockout mice experienced less atrophy than the control mice, helping to validate the MuRF-1 model. The overall goal is to learn more about muscle wasting so scientists and drug companies can help patients who are at risk. The partnerships that enable research aboard the orbiting laboratory continue to push the envelope of science in space, seeking answers to propel exploration and benefit people on Earth.

132 133 Link to Archived Stories and Videos http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/benefits/index.html

134 Authors and Principal Investigators by Section Principal Investigator (PI) listed for stories focused on a specific space station investigation.

Human Health Improved scanning technologies and insights into osteoporosis Robotic arms lend a healing touch Author: ESA Author: CSA PI: Christian Alexandre, M.D., University of St. Etienne, PI: Dr. Garnette Sutherland, University of Calgary France Robots from space lead to one-stop breast cancer Good diet, proper exercise help protect astronauts’ diagnosis treatment bones Author: Jessica Eagan, NASA Author: Bill Jeffs, NASA PI: Dr. Mehran Anvari, Scientific Director & CEO, Centre PI: Scott Smith and Jean Sibonga, NASA for Surgical Invention & Innovation (CSii), Hamilton, Add salt? Astronauts’ bones say please don’t Canada. Author: ESA Improved eye surgery with space hardware PI: Petra Frings-Meuthen, German Aerospace Author: ESA Center (DLR) PI: A. Clarke, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Early detection of immune changes prevents painful Germany shingles in astronauts and in Earth-bound patients Sensor technologies for high-pressure jobs Authors: Satish K. Mehta, Duane L. Pierson, and C. and operations Mark Ott, NASA Author: ESA PI: Satish K. Mehta, Duane L. Pierson, and C. Mark Ott, PI: Hans-Christian Gunga, Charité Universitätsmedizin, NASA Berlin, Germany Station immunology insights for Earth and space Bringing space station ultrasound to the ends of Author: Jessica Nimon, NASA the Earth PI: Millie Hughes-Fulford, Director of the Laboratory of Author: Mark Wolverton, NASA Cell Growth at the University of California, San Francisco PI: Scott Dulchavsky, M.D., Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan Targeted treatments to improve immune response Author: ESA Are you asthmatic? Your new helper comes PI: M. Maccarrone, N. Battista, University of Teramo, from space Teramo, Italy Author: ESA PI: Lars Karlsson and Lars Gustafsson, Karolinska High-quality protein crystal growth experiment Institutet, Dept of Physiology and Pharmacology, aboard Kibo Stockholm, Sweden Authors: Mitsugu Yamada and Kazunori Ohta, JAXA PI: Over 80 Principal investigators conducted JAXA Cold plasmas assist in wound healing protein crystal growth experiments on the ISS. Author: NASA PI: Dr. Hubertus M. Thomas, Deutsches Zentrum für Cancer-targeted treatments from space station discoveries Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany; Prof. V.E. Fortov, Institute for High Energy Densities Author: Laura Niles, NASA (IHED, RAS), Russia PI: Dennis Morrison, NASA’s Johnson Space Center and NuVue Therapeutics, Inc. Preventing bone loss in spaceflight with prophylactic use of bisphosphonate: Health Using weightlessness to treat multiple ailments promotion of the elderly by space medicine Authors: I. B. Kozlovskaya and Ye. S. Tomilovskaya, technologies Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Author: Hiroshi Ohshima, JAXA Academy of Sciences (IBMP RAS), Moscow, Russia PI: Adrian Leblanc, United Space Research Association, PI: Ye. S. Tomilovskaya and Toshio Matsumoto, Tokushima University

135 Microbiology applications from fungal research New ways to assess neurovestibular system health in space in space also benefits those on Earth Author: ESA Authors: L. N. Kornilova, I. A. Naumov, G. A. PI: D. Hasegan, G. Mogildea, Romanian Institutes of Ekimovskiy, Yu. I. Smirnov, Institute of Biomedical Space Science and Biology, Bucharest, ; Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBMP E. Chatzitheodoridis, National Technical University RAS), Moscow, Russia of Athens, Greece PI: L. N. Kornilova, I. A. Naumov, Yu. I. Smirnov Plant growth on ISS has global impacts on Earth Space research leads to non-pharmacological Author: Tara Ruttley, NASA treatment and prevention of vertigo, dizziness and PI: Weijia Zhou, Ph.D., of the Wisconsin Center equilibrium disturbances for Space Automation and Robotics, University of Authors: L. N. Kornilova, I. A. Naumov, G. A. Wisconsin-Madison Ekimovskiy, Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBMP RAS), Moscow, Experiments with higher plants on the Russian Russia Segment of the International Space Station PI: L. N. Kornilova, I. A. Naumov, G. A. Ekimovskiy Authors: V. N. Sychev, M. A. Levinskikh, I. G. Podolsky, Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Capturing the secrets of weightless movements for Academy of Sciences (IBMP RAS), Moscow, Russia; Earth applications G. E. Bingham (Utah State University, Space Dynamics Authors: Salvatore Pignataro, Gabriele Mascetti, Laboratory, Logan, Utah, USA) Italian Space Agency PI: V. N. Sychev, M. A. Levinskikh, I. G. Podolsky, G. E. PI: Francesco Lacquaniti, Center of Space Biomedicine, Bingham University of Rome Tor Vergata; Colleagues from many Russian and non-Russian Giancarlo Ferrigno, Department of Electronics, organizations participated in carrying out work Information and Bioengineering according to the Rasteniya program in the Lada Space technologies in the rehabilitation of greenhouse on the ISS RS. The contributions of S. A. movement disorders Gostimsky (M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University), Authors: I.V. Sayenko, I.B. Kozlovskaya, Institute and M. Sugimoto (Okayama University, Institute of of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy Bioresources, Okayama, Japan) should be especially of Sciences (IBMP RAS), Moscow, Russia noted. PI: I.V. Sayenko Space cardiology for the benefit of health care Authors: R. M. Baevsky, Ye.Yu. Bersenev, I.I. Funtova, Earth Observation and Disaster Response Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Earth remote sensing from the space station Academy of Sciences (IBMP RAS), Moscow, Russia Author: ISS Program Earth Observations Working Group PI: R. M. Baevsky, Ye.Yu. Bersenev, I.I. Funtova Coastal ocean sensing extended mission Biological rhythms in space and on Earth Author: Curtiss Davis, College of Earth, Ocean, and Authors: NaomuneYamamoto, JAXA and Kuniaki Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University Otsuka, Tokyo Women’s Medical University PI: Mary E. Kappus, US Naval Research Laboratory; PI: Chiaki Mukai, JAXA Michael R. Corson, US Naval Research Laboratory Innovative space-based device promotes restful Visual and instrumental scientific observation of the sleep on Earth ocean from space Authors: R. M. Baevsky, Ye. S. Luchitskaya, I. I. Authors: A. N. Yevguschenko, State Organization Funtova, Institute of Biomedical Problems of the “Gagarin Research&Test Cosmonaut Training Russian Academy of Sciences (IBMP RAS), Moscow, Center”; B. V. Konovalov, P. P. Shirshov Institute of Russia Oceanography of the Russian Academy of Sciences PI: R. M. Baevsky, Ye. S. Luchitskaya, I. I. Funtova Space station camera captures Earthly disaster New technology simulates microgravity and scenes improves balance on Earth Authors: Dauna Coulter and Jaganathan Ranganathan, Authors: I.B. Kozlovskaya, I.V. Sayenko, Institute of SERVIR Team, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of PI: Burgess Howell, NASA Sciences (IBMP RAS), Moscow, Russia PI: I.B. Kozlovskaya Clear high-definition images aid disaster response Authors: Hideaki Shinohara and Sayaka Umemura, JAXA PI: Chikara Harada, JAXA

136 Innovative Technology Global Education

Advanced ISS technology supports water Inspiring the next generation of students with the purification efforts worldwide International Space Station Author: Arun Joshi, NASA Author: Jessica Nimon, NASA PI: Donald L. Carter, Robyn Gatens PI: NASA, CSA, ESA, JAXA, Roscosmos Exploring the wonders of fluid motion: Improving Student scientists receive unexpected results from life on Earth through understanding the nature of research in space Marangoni convection Author: Jessica Nimon, NASA Author: Satoshi Matsumoto, JAXA PI: Zahaan Bharmal PI: Hiroshi Kawamura, Tokyo University of Science, Europe’s alliance with space droids Koichi Nishino, Yokohama National University, Shinichi Author: ESA Yoda, JAXA, Yasuhiro Kamotani, Case Western Reserve PI: ESA University, Satoshi Matsumoto, JAXA NASA has HUNCH about student success in Space station-inspired mWater app identifies engineering healthy water sources Author: Laura Niles Author: Jessica Nimon, NASA PI: John and Annie Feighery, mWater Tomatosphere™: Sowing the seeds of discovery through student science Space-tested fluid flow concept advances Author: CSA infectious disease diagnoses PI: Michael Dixon, University of Guelph Author: Mike Giannone, NASA Glenn Research Center PI: Mark Weislogel, NASA Students photograph Earth from space via Sally Ride EarthKAM program Improving semiconductors with nanofibers Author: Arun Joshi, NASA Author: Masato Katsuta, JAXA PI: Sally Ride, Karen Flammer PI: Takatoshi Kinoshita, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology Try zero G2: Igniting the passion of the next generation in Asia InSPACE’s big news in the nano world Author: Yayoi Miyagawa, JAXA Author: Mike Giannone, NASA PI: JAXA PI: Eric M. Furst, University of Delaware Asian students work with astronauts in space Deploying small satellites from ISS missions Author: Hitoshi Morimoto, JAXA Author: Muneo Takaoki, JAXA PI: Yusuke Matsumura, JAXA PI: Kibo-ABC (Asian Beneficial Collaboration through Pinpointing time and location Kibo Utilization) Initiative Author: ESA Educational benefits of the space experiment PI: Felix Huber, Steinbeis Transferzentrum Raumfahrt, “Shadow-beacon” on ISS Gaufelden - Stuttgart, Germany Author: V.A. Strashinskiy, Central Research Institute for Space station technology demonstration could Machine Building (FGUP TsNIIMash) boost a new era of satellite-servicing PI: V.A. Strashinskiy, (FGUP TsNIIMash) Author: Adreinne Alessandro, NASA Students get fit the astronaut way PI: Frank J. Cepollina, Benjami B. Reed Author: Jessica Nimon, NASA Cool flame research aboard space station may lead PI: Charles Lloyd, NASA to a cleaner environment on Earth Inspiring youth with a call to the International Space Author: Mike Giannone, NASA Station PI: Folman Williams, Daniel L. Dietrich Authors: Jessica Nimon and Camille Alleyne, NASA Robonaut’s potential shines in multiple space, PI: Frank Bauer medical and industrial applications Calling cosmonauts from home Author: Laura Niles Author: S.V.Avdeev, FGUP TsNIIMash PI: Myron A. Diftler PI: Space experiment “Coulomb Crystal” – V.Ye.Fortov, Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian

137 Academy of Sciences Mission critical: Flatworm experiment races the Space experiment “Shadow-Beacon” – O.M.Alifanov, clock after splashdown Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research Author: Craig Simon, President and CEO University); V.A.Strashinskiy, FGUP TsNIIMash Company name: FedEx SupplyChain Space experiment “MAI-75” - O.M.Alifanov, Economic development of space in JAXA V.K.Odelevskiy; Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) Authors: Sayaka Umemura and Kazuyuki Tasaki, JAXA Space experiment “Great Start” – M.Yu.Belyaev, OAO Company and organization names: Mitsubishi Electric “Rocket and Space Corporation “Energia” after S.P. (MELCO)/Orbital Sciences Corporation, Japan Space Korolev” Forum, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Fuji Chemical Co., Ltd., Shiseido Co., Ltd., Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., MAI-75 experiment, main results and prospects for Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS)/ development in education Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA)/Brazilian Authors: O. M. Alifanov, S. O. Firsyuk, V. K. Odelevsky Space Agency (AEB)/Brazilian National Institute for (Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research Space Research (INPE), Interprotein Corporation, University)); N. S. Biryukova (Central Research Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., ARKRAY, and Institute for Machine Building (FGUP TsNIIMash)); S. Junkosha Inc. N. Samburov, A. I. Spirin (OAO Rocket and Space Corporation Energia after S.P. Korolev (RSC-Energia)) Colloids in space: Where consumer products and science intersect PI: O. M. Alifanov, V. K. Odelevsky, Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill PI: David A. Weitz, Harvard University; Matthew Lynch, Economic Development of Space Proctor and Gamble Space mice teach us about muscle and bone loss Water production in space: Thirsting for a solution Authors: Rebecca Boyle, Kathy Watkins-Richardson Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill and Melissa Gaskill Company name: UTC Aerospace Systems PI: H. Q. Han, Amgen Research Commercialization of low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Protein crystals in microgravity Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill Authors: Rebecca Boyle and Melissa Gaskill Company name: NanoRacks, LLC PI: Paul Reichert, Merck Research Laboratories Innovative public-private partnerships for ISS cargo Muscle atrophy: Mice on the ISS helping life on services: Part 1 Earth Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill Authors: Rebecca Boyle, Kathy Watkins-Richardson Company name: SpaceX and Melissa Gaskill Innovative public-private partnerships for ISS cargo PI: Samuel Cadena, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical services: Part 2 Research Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill Company name: Orbital Sciences Corporation Precision pointing platform for Earth observations from the ISS Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill Company name: Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. The Groundbreaker: Earth observation Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill Company name: UrtheCast A flock of CubeSats photographs our changing planet Authors: Rebecca Boyle and Melissa Gaskill Company name: Planet Labs Stretch your horizons, Stay Curious™ Authors: Kathy Watkins-Richardson, Melissa Gaskill Company name: Kentucky Space/Space Tango, Inc.

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